


Dixie Kong's Double Trouble

by Lady_Zephyrine



Series: Donkey Kong [7]
Category: Donkey Kong - Fandom, Donkey Kong Country
Genre: Family Feels, Gen, Missing Persons, Novelization, Suffering will come in sometime later, What am I even doing with this?
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-02-16
Updated: 2019-07-11
Packaged: 2019-10-29 21:34:30
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 21
Words: 28,129
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17815916
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Lady_Zephyrine/pseuds/Lady_Zephyrine
Summary: Having to no longer worry about the Kremlings, DK and Diddy decide to take a vacation. But not only do they go missing, a new threat plans on taking over the Northern Kremisphere. With this in mind, Dixie has no choice but to head down there and stop this threat.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> Here we are, with the last game of the series to be novelized (as well as the first novelization for this game...? How has nobody decided to do this one?) In my opinion, I actually find DKC3 to be pretty underrated. In fact, I'd have to say it's my third (heh) favorite game out of the DKC series (beaten by DKC2 and DKCTF). Plus, I remember everyone and their dog begging me to novelize this one several years ago, but here it is...
> 
> Also, if anyone else decides to novelize this game, then I'd love to read it.

It was a beautiful day on Donkey Kong Island. Here, the Kongs were all out and about, enjoying themselves as they no longer had to worry about the Kremlings. In fact, ever since their home, Crocodile Isle, had fallen into the ocean, some of them had decided to move in with the Kongs. And while things started off quite rocky for the first few monthes, these Kremlings began getting along with everyone.

Running along the jungle were two young Kongs, who appeared to be around 10-years-old. One of them wore a red hat, a red shirt, and possesed a tail. The other Kong wore a pink beret, a pink top, and had long, blonde hair tied into a ponytail. Both Kongs dashed through the village, they ran past several Kongs and Kremlings as they kept moving. Eventually, they made their way to a pond. The Kong in red raced up a tree, he grabbed a nearby branch with his tail and started dangling off of it. "I win!"

"Oh, whatever," said the Kong in pink as she sat down at the log. "I'll bet if we were swimming, I would've won!"

"Yeah, yeah," the Kong in red jumped off the tree and sat down on the log with his girlfriend. "It's a shame you can't come with us, though."

"I know," Dixie said nodding. "But look on the bright side, at least you got the chance to go somewhere new for once."

"Well...yeah," said the Kong in red. "It'll be nice to go down there with DK, but I still wish you could come with me."

"Well...Maybe next time, we'll go down there together," Dixie said smiling. "But uh...make sure you keep yourself warm while you're there, Diddy...I hear it can get really cold near Lake Orangutanga."

"No worries," Diddy said. "Wrinkly's s'posed to be goin' down there, too. So we'll have a place to stay while we're on vacation."

"There you are!" said a voice as another Kong walked came over to the duo. It was none other than Donkey Kong, he was carrying two briefcases with him, he looked as if he was ready to go on a long journey. "Are ya ready to go, Little Buddy?"

Diddy nodded, "I was just sayin' good-bye to Dixie."

"All right," DK said with a shrug, "But Wrinkly's waitin' on us right now, so we really need to get goin' soon."

The younger Kongs frowned, they looked at each other as if this would be the last time they ever saw each other.

"Well...I guess this is it," Dixie said. She took off Diddy's hat and kissed him on the forehead, "Have fun out there!"

"We will," Diddy replied. He took his hat back from his girlfriend and placed it back onto his head. "Take care of yourself, OK?"

Once the Kongs said their good-byes, Diddy started to follow DK back to the village. On one hand, she was a little upset to see her boyfriend leave. But on the other hand, she couldn't help but feel like he needed this vacation. That way, he could experience what else lied beyond the island. And after rescuing DK all those months ago, Diddy deserved this.

Dixie began to head back home. Along the way, she could see Funky's airplane flying in the distance. With her boyfriend gone, she had a lot of time in her hands.

...Actually, didn't Candy have something planned today? Surely, it wouldn't hurt to check up on her.

 

* * *

 

The rest of the day had been quiet, with the Kongs continuing their normal routines. DK's girlfriend, Candy had finally opened her music shop. She was having Dixie help her set everything up for her customers. Dixie was carrying a box full of trumpets, she placed three of them onto one of the shelves.

"Thanks for helping me out, Dixie," Candy said while placing one of the guitars against the wall. "I would've asked DK to help out, but he's been busy packing to go to the Northern Kremisphere."

"Well, it's probably been a while since he took an actual vacation."

"True..." Candy said while nodding. "And at least this time, he's taking Diddy along with him. Poor thing would've gone stir crazy if he stayed here any longer."

Dixie nodded in agreement, "I know I would go crazy if I stayed in the same place for too long."

As the Kongs finished taking care of the shop, a younger Kong started to walk inside. She had long blonde hair like Dixie. However, her hair was tied back into two long pigtails. She walked over to Dixie with a worried expression on her face.

"Hey, sis...Have you seen Kiddy anywhere?"

Dixie raised an eyebrow, "I thought he was with you guys..."

"Well, we've been lookin' all over for him," Dixie's sister said. "He wasn't at the shack, and he wasn't at DK's place."

"Did you check Cranky's place?"

"We did, he's not there either."

Dixie sighed, she looked at Candy with a worried look. "Do you mind if I go look for my cousin right now?"

"Go ahead," Candy replied, "I'll let you two know if I see anything!"

Dixie nodded as she headed outside with her sister. Usually, Kiddy would either stay at the beach or hang around DK's place. So the fact that he went missing at all was worrying.

The Kong sisters started heading into the jungle. Surely, their cousin had to be in there somewhere.

 

* * *

 

Dixie had been searching for hours now. And no matter how many times she searched for Kiddy, she couldn't find him. He wasn't at the beach, he wasn't at the village, and he was nowhere to be found in the jungle. At this rate, Kiddy could've been anywhere.

Eventually, the duo found themselves resting at the beach. At this point, they weren't even sure what to do now.

"Do you think Kiddy's somewhere in the mines?" Dixie asked, her sister shook her head. "I don't think he'd go THAT far away."

"Yeah...you're probably right."

Just as they were beginning to lose hope, the duo began to hear a parrot fly towards them. As it landed, the parrot handed Dixie the letter that was in its beak. She had to assume it was from one of the Kongs on vacation.

 

_**-** _  
_**Yo, Dixie.** _

_**Don't freak out, but we found your little cousin sitting in the back of the plane. We're keepin' an eye on him for right now, but I just wanted to let you guys know where he was.** _

_**See you in a couple days, Funky.** _

_**-** _

After reading the letter, Dixie grew a bitter look on her face. Her sister started to look worried. "What's wrong, Dixie?"

"...Kiddy stowed away on Funky's plane, he's heading over to the Northern Kremisphere right now."

"So you're telling me that he's been with Funky the whole time?"

"Well...At least now we know where he is," Dixie said before sighing. "But...we're gonna have to tell Chunky about this later."

Dixie was happy to hear that Kiddy was fine. But even then, she hoped that he wasn't causing too much trouble with the others. Besides, everyone was going to be there for a couple days. So there was nothing to worry about...right?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Well...Kiddy had to be with Funky somehow, I like to think that he stowed away with everyone at some point.
> 
> Also, this story will primarily be based on the SNES version, but I will add some elements from the GBA remake as well.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now, for the chapter where things go wrong!

It was yet another day on Donkey Kong Island, and Dixie was walking through the village. Normally, Diddy would've met up with her around this time. And when they meet up, they would usually hang around or play whatever game they could think of. But since he and DK were on vacation, the village seemed a lot more...quiet than usual.

...Well, whatever. As long as they were having a good time, then it shouldn't matter.

As Dixie kept walking, she couldn't help but hear her sister speaking to a couple of Kremling children.

"So do you think we'll be all right without DK here to protect us?"

"I'm sure we'll be fine. Besides, nobody's seen K. Rool since Crocodile Isle sank into the ocean."

"That's true...but even then, you never know who's gonna show up and take over the island."

Dixie glanced at the group as she kept walking. She could understand their concern, since anyone could try and take over the island if they wanted to. But considering how peaceful the island was since K. Rool's defeat, She was certain that there was nothing to worry about.

 

* * *

 

A few more days had gone by, and Dixie was already rushing over to DK's treehouse. As much as she enjoyed the quieter atmosphere, she couldn't wait to reunite with her friends.

When she arrived at the treehouse, she could see DK's pet rhino sleeping in front of the Banana Hoard. He opened one of his eyes as Dixie climbed the treehouse, but he dozed off again moments later. Dixie was about to knock on the door when she noticed a note hanging off of it. She had to assume it was written the morning the two Kongs left.

_**-** _

_**Gone exploring with DK, we'll be back in a few days.** _

_**\- Diddy** _

_**-** _

After reading the note, Dixie sighed in defeat. Of course...they could just be preparing to leave the Northern Kremisphere, so all she needed to do was be patient. She hopped off the treehouse and was about to head on home. However, she wasn't expecting to see DK's grandfather arrive at the treehouse as well. As usual, he had a stern expression on his face.

"So I see you couldn't wait to meet up with DK again," said the ape. "Except he's not even here!"

"Well yeah, I can already see that!" Dixie said while rolling her eyes. "So why did YOU come over, Cranky?"

"I came over to check up on the Banana Hoard," Cranky replied. "We can't have anybody takin' off with 'em again."

"Of course not," Dixie replied. Cranky headed into the banana hoard and looked around. From what he could tell, nothing was out of place. He gave off a satisfied hum before turning towards Dixie. "Say...you wouldn't mind checking in on the Banana Hoard while I'm gone, right?"

"Uh...why?"

"Because Swanky and I are headin' over to the Northern Kremisphere ourselves," Cranky said. "And since you clearly don't have anything better to do, why don't you keep on it?"

"Isn't that s'posed to be YOUR job?" Dixie asked. "And why are you heading over there, anyway?"

"Because Swanky said he'd pay me if I helped him out," Cranky said with a shrug. "Besides...DK's gonna be home tonight, so it's not like you'll be doin' much anyway!"

Cranky left the treehouse, leaving Dixie by herself. She couldn't help but feel slightly bitter, it was as if everyone was leaving her behind. Heck, even her cousin ended up in the Northern Kremisphere before she did.

...Well, whatever. Everyone else should be coming home soon, so being angry wouldn't do her any good. All she could do now was wait.

 

* * *

 

A couple more days would pass, and despite waiting for so long, none of the Kongs have returned home.

It was sunrise, and Dixie was sitting on a tree branch. Candy was leaning against the tree, her arms were crossed over her chest.

"So do you think they'll come back, today?" Candy asked.

"I hope so," Dixie replied. "I'm starting to get worried about everyone."

"Well if worse comes to worse, then we'll just have to head down there, ourselves."

Dixie nodded, though she wanted to believe everyone was all right. Still, with the way things were going, she'll probably end up being the only one left on Donkey Kong Island.

The sound of parrots could be heard flying towards the Kongs. Sure enough, two of them landed onto the tree. One of them was green, and the other one was purple. The green one had a letter in his mouth.

"So what brings you guys here?" asked Candy.

"Well, Funky asked us to send a message to Dixie," the purple parrot said. "He says it's urgent!"

"But why me?" Dixie asked. The green parrot handed the letter over to Dixie, "Read it and find out!"

Dixie raised an eyebrow as she opened the letter. She wasn't sure why Funky would be sending a letter to her specifically. But even then, it wouldn't hurt to read it.

_**-** _

_**Yo, Dixie.** _

_**Hope you're doin' all right back home. We would've left sooner, but we have a pretty big problem on our hands.** _

_**You see, the day before we got ready to leave, DK and Diddy went missing. Not only that, some weirdo's trying to take over the Northern Kremisphere. I've asked Swanky if he'd help out, but he'd rather focus on running his fancy game tent. Cranky wasn't any better, he'd rather play Swanky's games than to help us. And not to doubt the old lady, but I don't think Wrinkly can do much, either.** _

_**Anyway...since you've helped Diddy save DK last time, maybe you can help look for them? There should be smaller plane sitting in my hut. I don't know if you've ever driven a plane before, but it shouldn't be too hard to figure out by yourself.** _

_**\- See you soon, Funky.** _

_**-** _

Dixie looked horrified, how could DK and Diddy go missing so soon? And what was the weirdo that Funky was talking about?

"What did the letter say, Dixie?"

"...We've gotta go to the Northern Kremisphere," Dixie said as she started handing the letter over to Candy. "DK and Diddy are missing, we've gotta do something!"

"WHAT!?" Candy yelled as she took the letter from Dixie. She skimmed through it before looking back at the young ape, "Are you sure you'll be able to handle it? I mean, we don't even know what kind of threat is over there!"

"Well, we won't know unless we go!" Dixie said as she hopped off of the tree branch. "Besides, what if this weirdo has something to do with DK and Diddy disappearing?"

Candy frowned, she placed a hand under her chin. "I suppose you're right...but if you really want to go through with this, you'll need to get yourself ready. Once we're in the Northern Kremisphere, we might not be able to come back here for a while."

Dixie nodded in understanding, she started heading towards the beach. "I'm gonna go pack up!"

With that said, Candy couldn't help but chuckle. Dixie was always willing to head off when it came to adventures. In a way, she was a little bit like DK and Diddy in that regard.

Still, even when adventuring, Dixie's top priority was to rescue the Kongs, and she was going to save no matter what.

 

* * *

 

Back at the beach, Dixie's sister was sitting outside of the shack. She had a Gameboy in her hands, the game she was playing involved a small puffball going through a forest.

She looked up as she Dixie run into the shack, the young ape headed inside with a curious expression. "What's going on, Dixie?"

"I gotta head off to the Northern Kremisphere!" Dixie replied as she grabbed a nearby suitcase. She filled it with blankets and some clothes, as well as a few bananas. Her sister gave her a look of concern. "Why? Is something wrong?"

"DK and Diddy are missing, so I need you to keep an eye on things while I'm gone!"

"But why me?"

"Because I need SOMEONE to let Chunky know where I am!"

"Huh..." Dixie's sister scratched the back of her head, "Are you sure you don't need me to help out or anything?"

"I'll be fine," Dixie replied. "Funky and Wrinkly are down there, too. So if anything goes wrong, I could always ask them for help!"

"...All right," Dixie's sister said. "Just be careful out there, OK?"

Dixie nodded, she hugged her sister before heading back to the village. If Funky was right about the airplane, then she had no time to waste.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> All I have to say is...Poor Tiny, she doesn't even get named in this thing.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Ah yes, the chapter in which Dixie is forced to team up with a baby!

As soon as Dixie made it over to Funky's hut, she could see Candy standing outside with the airplane. Although it was smaller than the one Funky used, it was still big enough to hold two Kongs.

"So are you ready?" Candy asked.

"I think so," Dixie replied. She tossed her suitcase into the back of the airplane, "The sooner we get over there, the better."

With that said, Candy climbed into the front of the plane while Dixie climbed into the back. While the Kongs weren't that experienced when it came to airplanes, they managed to figure out how to get it flying. As far as they could tell, it was no different from playing a video game.

Soon, the Kongs flew high above the ocean. Dixie couldn't tell why, but she was really excited to see how this journey played out. She was always one for exploring, so in a way, looking for DK and Diddy would be like looking for a fancy treasure...For a lack of better words.

Still, she couldn't help but worry about what kind of threat she'll be facing. If DK and Diddy weren't able to handle it, than she would have to be careful while she was over there.

 

* * *

 

It had been 8 hours since the Kongs left the island. For the most part, the ocean looked incredibly bare. There were a few islands here and there, most notably one with a lighthouse. But even with that in mind, the ocean just seemed endless.

Eventually, the Kongs began to see land sitting in the distance. This land was huge. Not only was Dixie able to see a large number of trees in the distance, she could also see plenty of lakes and mountains. No doubt about it, this place was the Northern Kremisphere.

Once the Kongs got close enough to the ground, Candy landed the airplane. "Looks like we're here."

Dixie hopped out of the plane, she could see a cave in the distance. Not only that, she could also see a cabin and a garage on each side of the cave.

"I'm gonna go look for Funky," Candy said. "In the meantime, why not just walk around and stretch your legs?"

Dixie nodded as she grabbed her suitcase, While Candy headed over to the garage, Dixie headed over to the cave. She was certain that one of the Kongs had to be here. Sure enough, she spotted an elderly Kong sitting on the couch. The Kong had a video game controller in her hands.

"...Wrinkly?"

The Kong turned her head with a surprised look on her face, that surprise turned into joy as she spotted Dixie standing at the entrance.

"Thank goodness you're here!" Wrinkly said as she stood up from the couch, "I've was wondering when you would come over."

"Er...It's nice to see you, too," Dixie replied as she crossed her arms. "If it's all right to ask, do you know what happened to DK and Diddy?"

Wrinkly shrugged. "I have no idea. The last time I saw them, they were heading over to Lake Orangutanga."

"Do you think they're still over there?"

"They could be," Wrinkly replied, "though I don't think it would be that easy for them to get lost over there...Then again, they could've just gone past it and ended up in Kremwood Forest."

Dixie nodded, "That sounds about right."

"Yes, but once again I'm not too certain." Wrinkly said as she placed a hand below her chin. "I think Bazaar might have a better idea as to where've they gone, he's the bear who runs the store not that far from here."

"You mean the cabin nearby?"

"Exactly," Wrinkly said with a nod. "Now...if you ever need a place, you can always come back here. OK?"

"Yes, Ma'am!" Dixie said as she placed her stuff next to the couch. She bid Wrinkly farewell as she headed out of the cave. While she had a better idea of where the missing Kongs might be, it still wouldn't hurt to take a look at the store while she was here. Besides...If he didn't know where the Kongs were, maybe he'd know something about the new threat that's popped up?

 

* * *

 

As Dixie stepped inside of the cabin, she started to notice how old-fashioned it was. There was a rug on the floor, the walls were lined with shelves filled with old objects. In the back of the cabin stood a tall brown bear, roughly DK's size. He was dusting off the counter in front of him, he barely noticed Dixie walk in.

"Er...Excuse me," Dixie said as she walked up to the bear. "Would you happen to be Bazaar?"

"Hm?" The bear stopped what he was doing, his confusion turned into surprise when he saw the young ape in front of him.

"Oh...Hello, there!" Bazaar said as he laid an arm against the counter. "You must be Dixie!"

"How did you-"

"I've heard all about you from that boyfriend of yours," Bazaar chuckled, "Though I'm guessing he's one of the reasons why you're here now."

"Well...Yeah," Dixie said with a nod. "Do you know where he went?"

"Hmm..." Bazaar tapped his claws against the counter as he tried to think. Suddenly, an idea popped into his head. He started looking over the items he had behind the counter. "Last I heard of 'im, he went to Lake Orangutanga with Donkey Kong. I doubt that they're still there, though."

"Huh..." Dixie frowned. "Well...Do you know about the weirdo that's trying to take over the Northern Kremisphere?"

"Not a clue," Bazaar replied. "All I know is that he showed up sometime after those Kongs vanished...So there's that."

Once Bazaar found what he was looking for, he handed it over to Dixie. "This one's on me, but next time you'll have to save some coins if you want anything else, OK?"

Dixie looked over the item, it was a pink seashell. She didn't know what it was for, however.

"Now...When you head over to Lake Orangutanga, chances are you'll run into my brother, Barnacle. Give him that shell, and he might be able to help you."

"All right," Dixie said as she hid the shell under her beret. She waved as she headed out of the cabin. "I'll see you later."

"Good luck out there!" Bazaar called out as the young ape left the store. He hoped he was able to help her in some way.

 

* * *

 

With Wrinkly and Bazaar out of the way, the only place left for Dixie to check out was Funky's place. As she walked into the garage, she spotted Funky trying to fix a hover-craft. Candy was standing next to him with her arms crossed, "Couldn't you use a different part for this?"

"I would if I could," Funky said in frustration. "But last I checked, Kiddy ate the patch!"

"...Oh," Candy had a discouraged look on her face, she looked over at Dixie with her hands on her hips. "Would you happen to have any patches on you?"

"Uh...no?"

"Welp, then I guess I can't fix this until I find a new patch," Funky said in defeat as he tossed his tools into the box next to him. Nonetheless, he smiled as Dixie appoached him. "I'm just glad you made it out here, Dixie."

"Dik-shi?" asked a toddler as he popped his head out from a nearby motorboat. He was relatively large. In fact, he was roughly Dixie's size. He was holding a tire, which had teeth marks on it.

"Oh yeah...I've been keepin' an eye on Kiddy while you guys were back home," Funky said while placing his hands in his pockets. "I tell ya, the kid's been a handful."

"We really should've kept an eye on him," Dixie admitted. "Sorry about that!"

"No worries, dude. DK was usually the one hangin' around with him, but I'm sure you can figure out the rest."

"You know...maybe she should bring Kiddy with her while she's looking for them?" Candy suggested, earning strange looks from both Kongs.

"Uh...no offense...but isn't Kiddy, y'know...a BABY?" Dixie asked while gesturing to her cousin. Funky replied with shrug. "Yeah...but if you think about it, Kiddy' pretty strong for his age."

"And?"

"Maybe you could use him to get through some tougher areas?" Candy suggested. "We're not saying that you should have him fight anyone, but he could still be useful in some way."

Dixie let out a defeated sigh. It's not that she didn't want to explore with Kiddy, it was the fact that he was a baby that made her weary. And if anything were to happen to him...well, then she wouldn't be able to forgive herself. But given how big the Northern Kremisphere was, any partner was better than no partner at this point.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And now for the first world, Lake Orangutanga.
> 
> I, uh...didn't know what to do with this one TBH.

After everything had settled down, Funky allowed Dixie to use his motorboat. It wasn't very fast, and it felt like it could break if she drove it anywhere else. So for now, all she needed to do was get to Lake Orangutanga.

The boat was parked near a cave. Dixie had gotten out, with Kiddy following after her. When the Kongs entered the cave, they couldn't believe what they were seeing. There were colorful crystals as far as the eye could see, they were so big that it would take multiple Kongs to lift one. Towards the middle, however, there were four crystals glowing in some-sort of pattern. Above them was what looked like a colorful bird, sealed away in another crystal.

"Why is crystal bird?" Kiddy asked.

"I'm...not sure?" Dixie replied, though she had no idea what Kiddy meant by this. Still, she couldn't help but feel sorry for the poor bird. At first, she figured it was some ancient species that got trapped inside like an ant getting trapped in amber. However, she yelped as she saw the bird looking at her. He tried calling, but all that came out was a low "caw".

"Wha-...How?" Dixie rubbed her head in confusion, she could've sworn the bird was dead. And yet, he was glancing between her and a crystal standing next to her. Dixie touched the crystal, it made a sound similar to a chime. She quickly figured out what she had to do, as she touched the crystal that glowed after touching the first one. She kept this going until finally, the bird was free.

"Oh thank the queen!" the bird yelled as he fell to the floor, "I was starting to think I'd never get out of there!"

"How'd you get trapped in the first place?" Dixie asked. The bird placed a feather under his beak as he tried to think. "I...can't remember," The bird replied. "All I know is that before then, these other Kongs were trying to help me find the Banana Birds."

"Did one of them wear a tie?"

"You know him?"

Dixie nodded, "We're trying to look for him!"

"Then I'll tell you what. If you can help me find those Banana Birds, I'll help you out in return...Does that sound good to you?"

"Well-"

"Great, then I'll meet you up ahead!"

With that said, the bird flew off before Dixie had a chance to say anything. Kiddy frowned, he tugged onto Dixie's arm. "Bird is gone?"

"Yep, the bird's gone," Dixie replied. She was sure that the bird would keep its promise. But for now, she just needed to worry about getting through Lake Orangutanga first.

 

* * *

 

Not that far from the cave was the docks. Here, there were boats as far as the eyes could see. Not only that, there were many Kremlings here as well. And unlike the ones that Dixie had encountered on Crocodile Isle, these Kremlings appeared to be harmless. Dixie continued to make her way down the docks, with Kiddy trailing behind her. She looked around a bit as she walked, but as expected, there was no sign of DK or Diddy anywhere.

Nearby, she heard a Kremling curse as he pulled something up from out of the water. It could've been a boot for all she knew. However, Kiddy was quick to notice the red hat in their claws, he ran as fast as his toddler legs could carry him.

"You see? I told you we should've gone to Cotton-Top Cove!"

And I've told you a hundred times that you'll get nothin' but urchins over there!"

"Well at least an urchin is SOMETHING!" yelled the Kremling. "Who the HELL leaves their hat in the water, anyhow?"

"Didi?"

"What?" The Kremlings turned their heads to face Kiddy, one of them let out a sigh. "Oh, it's just some kid!"

"Didi hat!" Kiddy yelled while pointing at the hat, one of the Kremlings' faces lit up. "Is this yours?"

"Just give it to him, you knucklehead!"

"All right," said the Kremling, annoyed. He placed the hat onto Kiddy's head. "There ya go, kid!"

Kiddy smiled, he started running along the docks just to catch up to Dixie. When he managed to catch up to her, he tugged at her shirt. "Dik-shi, look!"

"Not now," Dixie said stubbornly. "We've gotta find out where that bird went!"

"But Didi!" Kiddy argued.

"What about him?"

Kiddy huffed, he walked in front of Dixie and handed her the hat. "Didi hat!"

"Oh..." Dixie tilted her head. It was a strange thing to see Diddy without his hat. However, this had to mean that they were on the right track. The Kongs moved forward, they eventually left the docks and came up to the lake itself. Standing next the lake was an old cabin, where the bird from before was standing.

"It took you long enough," The bird said bitterly. "I was wondering when you two would show up!"

"You were the one that took off on us in the first place!" Dixie argued as she crossed her arms. "We can't help you if you fly away like that!"

"...Right," said the bird. "I guess I was a little too excited to be out of that crystal."

Dixie nodded in understanding. For all she knew, this bird could've been in there for days.

"So you need our help to find those Banana Birds, right?"

"Of course!" Parry replied. "After all, if we find them, than we might be able to find those Kongs too!"

"All right," Dixie said. "But we should probably look for Barnacle while we're out here. I'm sure he would've seen something!"

"Oh, right!" said the bird, "There should be an old boat inside that cabin, that should make it easier to get through the lake."

Dixie nodded as she headed into the cabin. There were a couple rats roaming the floor, some mushrooms were growing in the corner. Dixie hated to admit it, but her shack on the beach looked like a mansion compared to this.

There was a rowboat hanging off the wall. It didn't look as sturdy as Funky's motorboat, but it'll have to do. Kiddy grabbed the boat and headed outside before placing it into the water. He climbed inside, as Dixie hopped in from the other side. The bird hopped into the middle of the boat before ruffling his feathers.

"So...do you have a name?" Dixie asked as she grabbed a pair of oars, she moved the boat further into the water.

"Of course I do," said the bird. "You can call me Parry."

"Nice to meet you," Dixie replied as she continued to row the boat. "I'm Dixie, and my cousin's name is Kiddy."

"Dixie, huh...?" Parry brought a feather to his beak. "I think that other Kong said something about a Dixie before I got captured...what was his name, again?"

"It's Diddy."

"Ah, right!"

The group jumped as they heard what sounded like a loud belch. They didn't know where the noise came from, but it was strong enough to cause the water to shake. At the very least, Dixie had to be weary. After all, there was no telling what kind of weirdos she would face.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Just the Kongs moving further into Lake Orangutanga, nothing too big.

Sitting in the middle of Lake Orangutanga was another cabin, identical to Bazaar's. Unlike Bazaar's store, however, Dixie could catch the faint smell of fish. Nonetheless, she made her way inside the cabin with Kiddy following behind her. The wallls were lined with colorful seashells, at the back of the store was a bird sitting in a cage. The bird's head was cream-colored while its body was a bright yellow. This was probably one of the Banana Birds Parry was talking about.

"Oi, is someone here?" asked a voice in a calm tone. Coming from behind the counter was a bear, similar to Bazaar. Unlike Bazaar, however, this bear was wearing a white turtleneck and a blue hat. He actually looked quite old, almost as if he could be Cranky's age.

"So you're barnacle, right?" Dixie asked, the bear gave a polite nod. "Sure I am, and how can I help you today?"

"Well..." Dixie reached into her beret and pulled out the shell Bazaar had given her. She placed it onto the counter, "Your brother told me to give you this."

"Which brother? I've got 15 of 'em!"

"Uh..."

Barnacle let out a chuckle as he picked up the shell. "I'm joking, miss. But you know, I'm suprised Bazaar managed to find something like this."

"Really?"

"Yep, this is just what I needed to finish my collection!" Barnacle said as he turned back to the room he came in from. He continued to speak. "So what brings you two over to Lake Orangutanga?"

"We wanted to know if you've seen any other Kongs around." Dixie replied. Barnacle paused for a moment as he left the back room, he leaned his arm against the counter. "Now that you mention it, there was this other duo that came in the other day. The big guy was askin' me about this Banana Bird right here," Barnacle said as he pointed to the bird sitting inside the cage. "As for the little one, he looked more interested in my seashell collection!"

"I'd believe it," Dixie said while crossing her arms. "So do you know where they went?"

"They told me they were heading into Kremwood Forest to find the other Banana Birds...I haven't seen 'em since, though."

"Oh..." Dixie was disappointed, but at least she knew where to look now. Just as she was about to thank Barnacle, Kiddy started tugging at her arm.

"What's wrong, Kiddy?"

"Bird?"

"Oh, right," Dixie said, stunned. "Is it all right if we take that bird off your hands?"

"I dunno..." Barnacle had a worried expression on his face. "After that weirdo showed up, I've been trying to keep this little guy safe. Are you sure you'd want to bring him out there?"

"But this other bird says we need to find them all," Dixie explained. "I don't know what for, but it sounded urgent."

"Oh!" Suddenly, Barnacle's face lit up. "Was this a yellow bird by chance?"

"How'd you know?"

"'Cause he's an assistant of the Banana Bird Queen," Barnacle replied. He opened the cage and allowed the bird to land on Dixie's head. "She's the one who watches over the Northern Kremisphere. And if something's happened to the queen, then...well, that's probably why these guys are scattered about in the first place."

"I see..." Dixie said. "Well, thanks for talking with us."

"It's no problem," Barnacle replied with a smile. "And if you run into any more of my brothers, feel free to talk to them as well."

With that said, the Kongs began to leave the cabin. If it's one thing Dixie needed to do now, it would be to have a talk with Parry about the Banana Bird Queen.

 

* * *

 

Parry was still waiting outside the cabin, he was preening his feathers...which still had bits of crystal in them. He turned his head as he saw the Kongs walk outside.

"Hi there, Dixie!" Parry greeted, "I see you found one of the Banana Birds already!"

"Yeah...but what's this about a Banana Bird Queen?" Dixie asked. Parry's face lit up, "So that bear told you about the queen then, huh?"

"Is this why you wanted us to look for them?"

"Yeah...although I can't remember what's happened to our queen," Parry said with a sigh. "I just know that it's something bad, and that we need these birds to save her."

"I guess that's why DK asked about the Banana Bird," Dixie said as she brought a finger to the bird on her head, said bird began to rub against her hand. "What do we do with this one?"

"Winkly!" Kiddy suggested. "She watch bird!"

"That...sounds like a good idea, actually." Dixie looked down at Parry. "What do you think? Do you think you'll be able to find Wrinkly's cave?"

"It shouldn't be too far from where we are now, right?"

"It isn't," Dixie replied. "Her cave's across Lake Orangutanga."

"OK, I gotcha," Parry said as he started flapping his wings. The Banana Bird began to do the same thing, he flew off of Dixie's head and towards Parry.

"Try to keep an eye out for any more Banana Birds," Parry said. "I'll meet up with you guys, soon!"

With that said, Parry had taken off with the Banana Bird. Dixie looked at Kiddy with a concerned look on her face, "I guess it's just us, now."

Kiddy nodded. But before he could speak, the duo could hear yet another loud belch. Once again, it was enough to cause the ground to shake. Dixie jumped in the boat as Kiddy started pushing it.

"The sooner we get to Kremwood Forest, the better!"

"Yeah!"

 

* * *

 

Once the Kongs found themselves on land again, the Kongs continued to walk along the outside of Lake Orangutanga. As they continued walking, Dixie began to notice something odd. She could see a group of robotic wasps flying out of a barn in the distance. After they flew off, the Kongs could hear that belch once again.

"What do you think's going on, Kiddy?"

"More burps?" Kiddy asked.

"Yeah...but there SHOULDN'T be any wasps this far south," Dixie replied. "Especially not robotic ones."

"Why?"

"Nevermind that," Dixie said. "But if we check out the barn, I'll bet we'll be able to find something...What do you think, Kiddy?"

"Yeah!"

The Kongs started running along the lake, though they'd take a break every several minutes. The barn was a lot farther than they thought. After a while, though, they managed to reach it. The sign in front of the barn read "Belcha's Barn: Keep out!"

Yet another loud belch was heard. This time, it was so strong that it knocked both Kongs off their feet. And as excepted, several robotic wasps came out from the roof, they flew in all different directions.

"So what do you think's inside?" Dixie asked. "Do you think there's another banana bird in there?"

"Yeah!"

"...Do you think you'll be OK in there?"

"Yeah!"

"All right," Dixie said as she walked over to the barn door. She grabbed onto the doorknob, "On a count of three, we'll go inside."

"One..."

"Two..."

"THREE!" Dixie pushed the door open and ran inside, with Kiddy following close behind her. Strangely enough, the barn looked empty, the only things inside here were a chair, a rug and a chimny.

"I don't understand," Dixie said. She took off her beret and scratched behind her ear, I could've sworn that this was where the belching came from!"

"But bird!"

"Well, maybe there's-"

The belching started again, knocking the Kongs off their feet. There was no mistaking it, the belching was coming from here...just not in this room.

Quickly, Dixie began searching for a secret passage. While she searched, Kiddy started pulling at the rug. There was a trap door undearneath. Kiddy tried to push against it, but it was locked from the inside. Quickly, he called out to his cousin. "Dik-shi!"

"Did you find something?" Dixie asked, her eyes widened as she spotted the trap door.

"Lock!" Kiddy said bitterly. He kept pushing against the door, causing Dixie to panic. "Kiddy, wait!"

"OPEN!" Kiddy yelled as he started jumping on the trap door. The door broke, causing Kiddy to fall in. Dixie jumped in after him, Somehow, she found herself going head-first into the chute. She didn't know where she was going, or if it was even worth it, but at the very least she needed to keep an eye on her cousin.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And here's me trying to write for Belcha's boss fight.

Dixie continued to go down the chute until she landed on a pile of flour. Kiddy was standing in front of her, his clothing was all white from the flour. While Dixie was thankful that her cousin was fine, she wasn't sure whether to praise him or scold him for his carelessness. Either way, it didn't matter. Another belch was heard, it was loud enough to cause the Kongs to cover their ears. Once the belching had stopped, the duo decided to peek at the next room. There was a giant barrel in here, it was chewing on what appeared to be scrap metal. As soon as it was done, it let out another loud belch. As it belched, a group of robotic wasps flew out of its mouth.

When all went quiet, Dixie finally spoke. "We've gotta stop this thing...but how?"

"...push it?"

"...Maybe," Dixie replied. "I don't know if I'd be able to push it over, maybe there's a way we could knock him back?"

"Throw me!"

"I'm not gonna throw you!" Dixie said, sternly. She looked around a bit more until she laid her eyes on some smaller wooden barrels. If that thing liked metal, then maybe eating wood could break it. Dixie turned towards Kiddy and pointed at the barrels. "See those? That's what we're gonna feed him!"

"Why?"

"Because we want to break him," Dixie said. "Are you ready?"

"Yeah!"

"OK, let's go!"

The Kongs quietly walked behind the barrel as to not gain its attention. Kiddy grabbed onto one of the smaller wooden barrels. As he did so, the bigger barrel opened its mouth to let out yet another burp.

"Now!" Dixie yelled as Kiddy tossed the barrel inside the larger barrel's mouth, causing it to let out a quiet burp. Somehow, the burp was enough to push the barrel back. It looked down at the Kongs and gnashed its teeth, it hopped a few feet foward in an attempt to crush them. Dixie grabbed onto another small barrel and threw it into the bigger one's mouth. Once again, it let out another small burp. Not only was it knocked back again, it also started to lean back. Dixie tried to grab another barrel, but Kiddy picked her up instead.

"Hey, what are you-" Before Dixie could finish talking, Kiddy threw her at the barrel as hard as he could. This caused it to fall onto its back. But just as Dixie was about to get up and scold Kiddy, a voice was heard inside the barrel.

"OK! OK! I GIVE UP, PLEASE STOP!"

Dixie was curious, she looked inside and found what appeared to be a beetle inside the barrel. It had wires attacked to its head, as well as a strange contraption underneath. Said contraption might've been how those wasps got made in the first place.

Dixie shook her head in disbelief. "Why...were you sitting in there in the first place?"

"I-It was Kaos!" said the bug, "He asked me to make the Buzzes so that they would look for the remaining Banana Birds!"

"Kaos?" Dixie frowned as she tilted her head. "So he's the one taking over the Northern Kremisphere?"

"Exactly!" said the bug. "He told me that if I stayed here and created the buzzes, he'd let me take over Lake Orangutanga. That way, I wouldn't have to worry about predators out there!"

"Well, if I know anything about bad guys, it's that most of them don't know how to keep promises," Dixie said sternly. "I don't know who Kaos is, but we'll be sure to kick his butt!"

The bug sighed in relief, it was as if a weight had been lifted off his shoulders.

"Bird?" Kiddy asked impatiently.

"Bird?" the bug repeated.

"Oh!" Dixie's face lit up upon realization, "Would you happen to have a Banana Bird on you?"

The bug placed a hand below his chin, "Well, there is one bird I have in a cage outside. Kaos won't be too happy, but I'm sure you'll take care of it."

"All right," Dixie said as she started heading out of the basement. "Let's go, Kiddy!"

Kiddy followed her as the bug waved farewell. "Good luck, out there!"

 

* * *

 

Just as Dixie walked outside of the cabin, she saw a birdcage hanging on one of the nearby trees. She fiddled with the cage door until the Banana Bird inside of it was free. It fluttered around a bit until it landed on Dixie's head.

"So that makes two birds now," Dixie said. "And...how many other birds to go."

"Does DK have bird?" Kiddy asked. Dixie replied with a shrug. "I dunno, Kiddy...maybe he does and he's just hiding with it."

"Kiddy nodded. "But is DK safe?"

"Well...That's why we're here, isn't it?" Dixie asked. "And if DK's hiding in the woods, then maybe he can help us find the rest of the birds.

Still, the fact that DK went missing shortly after Kaos appeared was really concerning. All she could think of was that both Kongs went into hiding to avoid getting attacked by him. After all, she didn't know who she was up against.

Further ahead, Dixie could hear what sounded like carnival music. She could see two Kongs standing outside of a striped tent, along with a large, orange spider napping beside them. One of the Kongs was Cranky Kong. The other Kong, who wore a fancy yellow outfit, was Swanky Kong.

"Step right up, everyone!" Swanky yelled. "If you think you have what it takes to face off against THE original Donkey Kong, than you might be able to claim some prizes."

"Oh, knock it off!" Cranky said bitterly. "It's been a while since we've had a customer, so why not relax before we get to Cotton-Top Cove?"

"Because," Swanky crossed his arms, "You never know who's going to show up around here."

"Huh...speak of the devil," Cranky said as he noticed the younger Kongs walking towards the tent. Swanky gave the duo a smug look. "So what brings you two here? Did you come over to play some games or something?"

"Not exactly," Dixie replied. "We were wondering if you two saw DK anywhere."

"Haven't seen him, as far as I'm aware," Cranky said.

"No sign of Diddy, either," Swanky replied. "But, uh...I thought I saw one of those yellow birds flying by not that long ago."

"You mean one like this?" Dixie asked as she pointed at the bird on her head. Swanky nodded. "I saw it fly by sometime before I heard all that burping."

Well, at least Dixie knew now that another banana bird was nearby. She was about to bid the Kongs farewell when Kiddy tugged at her arm.

"What's up, Kiddy?"

"Game?"

"We can't play games right now!"

"One game?"

"But we don't even have the money for it."

"Please?"

Swanky raised an eyebrow as he rubbed his chin. "So you've got some money trouble, huh?"

"I didn't think I'd be able to use it here," Dixie said quietly.

"Well I'll tell you what...if your cousin here can beat Cranky in a head-to-head match, I'll give you 100 bear coins."

"Not that you two would ever beat me" Cranky said in a snarky tone. Kiddy charged into the tent with Cranky following behind him. With the duo ready to knock down some targets, all Dixie could do was stand there and watch.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Cranky's here...he's just not a major character.
> 
> Also, I'm really looking forward to doing Kremwood Forest next.


	7. Chapter 7

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DKC3: Now with more bear.

After Kiddy's match with Cranky, the duo decided to head into Kremwood Forest. Kiddy lost to Cranky by three targets, but Swanky gave them 30 coins before they left.

For the most part, Kremwood Forest was completely green. Then again, it was summer time down here. There were spiders, mice, and small white monkeys roaming the area, as well as the Buzzes that Belcha released. Although these creatures didn't look too interested in the banana bird still sitting on Dixie's head, they still looked rather uneasy.

The Kongs kept following along the river, thinking that they could find the next banana bird easily. However, they had to step aside when another bear nearly crashed into them.

"OUTTA THE WAY!" the bear yelled while running towards a nearby tree. It had a red flag tied to its branch. As he stopped running, another bear started running by. This bear was wearing sunglasses while the other bear wore a blue tracksuit.

"So...how long did it take THIS time?"

"Uh..." the bear with the sunglasses pulled out a stop watch, "About 1 minute, 47 seconds."

"YOU'RE KIDDING!"

"Nope, it says so right here," said the bear, showing his brother the watch.

"What's going on, here?" Dixie asked with a confused expression. Both bears turned their attention towards her, the one wearing the jumpsuit began to tremble with rage.

"THIS IS ALL YOUR FAULT!" yelled the bear as he marched towards Dixie and clutched her shoulders. "I would've beaten my own record if YOU hadn't shown up!"

Dixie just stared at him, she was having a hard time processing what was going on. However, Kiddy wasn't too happy. He kept on tugging at the bear's arm. "Let go!"

"And what are YOU gonna do about it, brat?"

"Leave 'em alone, Brash!" yelled the other bear. "They're just kids!"

"So what?" Brash argued. "They still should've known better then to get in MY way!"

"But-"

"Whatever," Brash began to march off, "Unless those brats can beat ME in a race, they're not goin' ANY further!"

Dixie had a confused expression on her face. She wasn't sure about what happened, or why, but either way it wasn't good."

"Sorry about that," said the bear in the sunglasses. "Truth be told, he's raced against another monkey kid a little while ago. Since then, he's been trying to beat his own record."

"Oh, I think I know who you're talking about," Dixie said with a smug expression. While she didn't have any doubts about DK being able to race someone, she felt that Diddy would've been most likely to have beaten Brash. Either way, she knew those Kongs have been through here at some point.

"Anyway...you can call me Bachelor," Said the bear, offering to shake Dixie's hand.

"I'm Dixie," Dixie said while grabbing Bachelor's paw. "My cousin and I are trying to look for those Kongs, have you seen them?"

"Not since they raced with Brash," Bachelor replied. He placed a paw under his chin. "I suppose Arich might've seen 'em at some point, but uh...he's a little...territorial."

"Oh...So do you know where he is?" Dixie asked. Bachelor nodded, "He lives in the tallest tree of Kremwood Forest...but in order to get there, you'll have to beat Brash in a race."

"Of course," Dixie couldn't help but roll her eyes. She could only imagine what it was like living with someone like him. Nonetheless, Bachelor gave her an encouraging smile.

"I don't think you'll have to worry about him too much," said Bachelor. "You look like you could be as quick as that monkey kid, so I'm sure you'd win."

Dixie nodded as she headed further into the forest, along with Kiddy and Bachelor. The bird on her head looked nervous, but she figured it was best to get this race out of the way as soon as she could.

 

* * *

 

Further down the river, Brash was standing beside two different poles. Below him was a checkered cloth, resembling that of a starting line. When the rest of the group showed up, Brash let out a stubborn snort.

"It's about time you showed up, any longer and I woulda ran to the finish line by myself!"

"Yeah, yeah," Bachelor replied. "Just give me a moment, will ya?"

While Bachelor headed downstream, Brash started to kneel down against the starting line. He gave Dixie a smug look. "So...you ready to lose, girly?"

"Not today," Dixie replied. Kiddy stayed next to her, he was trying to imitate Brash's pose. She wasn't sure if Kiddy had any idea about what was going on. So as far as she was aware, this was probably just another game to him.

As soon as Bachelor reached the finish line, he picked up a popgun that was sitting on the ground. Within 3 seconds, he shot a cork out of the popgun. This was everyone's cue to start running.

At first, Dixie was running at a decent pace. She ran on all fours so she would be able to run ahead of Brash. However, Brash didn't look too happy. He looked around until he found a rock lying on the ground. He kicked it into Dixie's direction, and before she noticed, she tripped over the rock.

"Later, losers!" Brash yelled as Dixie landed face-first into the ground. The ape started to tremble with rage. However, Kiddy stopped in his tracks and threw Dixie onto his back.

"Hey! No cheating!" Kiddy yelled as he started running as fast as he could. Obviously, Brash didn't look back. Kiddy began to huff, he brought his paws to the floor and started throwing himself off the ground in an attempt to get ahead. Brash tried to run faster than he currently was. It was a close race to the finish line, but Kiddy managed beat Brash by a small thread.

"WHAT!?" Brash yelled in anger. "How could a cheater like YOU manage to beat someone line ME!?"

"Who are you callin' the cheater, cheater?" Dixie replied. "And with an un-bearable attitude like that, it's no wonder my boyfriend could beat you...Not that he'd have to try, anyways."

"WHY I OUGHTA-"

"That's enough," Bachelor said, placing a paw on Brash's shoulder. The bear rolled his eyes. "Whatever, I have better stuff to do than to hang around these pipsqueaks all day!"

With that said, Brash marched on home. Dixie looked at Bachelor with a sympathetic look. "Sorry you have to put up with someone like him."

"No worries," Bachelor replied. "Barnacle said I could take his cabin when he moves to Pacifica, so there's that."

Dixie nodded in understanding. "I'm sure the lake would be a nice place to live."

Bachelor nodded in agreement. "So what are you gonna do? Are you headin' off to find Arich?"

"Yep," Dixie said while nodding. "Like you've said before, he might've seen where the other Kongs went."

"All right, then...good luck,"

Bachelor waved good-bye before he started heading off, Kiddy waved back. "Bye-bye, bear!"

"All right," Dixie said as she started to walk, "We've gotten that outta the way, now let's go find Arich."

"OK," Kiddy said as he started following Dixie. Although for some strange reason, he couldn't help but feel that he was being followed. He looked over at the bushes before moving on.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> While I DID say that I would base this primarily on the SNES version, I didn't want to keep going without adding elements from the GBA version.
> 
> Honestly...the only thing I'll probably leave out from the GBA version is the Kroctopus.


	8. Chapter 8

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Suprise! Here's another chapter for this week!

The Kongs moved further into Kremwood forest. As they moved, they could see a large tree in the distance. It looked like they would have to cross the river at some point, so they needed to find a bridge. But as soon as they found one, they saw that it was completely chewed up by buzzes. And when the last buzz finished the last piece of wood, it let out a belch...How a robotic wasp can belch was a complete mystery.

Dixie had to think for a moment. The river's current looked too strong for someone to cross over. And while Dixie could glide over there by herself, she wasn't sure if it was a good idea to leave Kiddy behind.

"Dik-shi!" Kiddy yelled as he tugged at Dixie's hair. The elder ape pulled back in response, "don't do that!"

"But there's monsters!"

"Yeah, that's why we're teamed up in the first place," Dixie said bitterly. Just as she said that, there was rustling in the bushes. Kiddy hid behind his cousin, who took on a more defensive stance. She was expecting one of those annoying buzzes to pop out. However, she looked in disbelief as she heard a trumpet-like noise coming from the bushes. Instead of a buzz, what came out was a small grey elephant. She was roughly Kiddy's size, so she was probably still young.

"...You were all worked up over an elephant?" Dixie asked as he arms dropped to her sides. Kiddy quietly made his way over to the elephant, who started poking him with her trunk. He looked back at Dixie with a curious look on his face. "Can Ellie stay?"

"...Actually, I think we might be able to use her to get past the river," Dixie said with a thoughtful expression. She looked at the elephant with a curious look. "So, how strong would you say you are?"

The elephant looked around for a bit until she spotted a log laying on its side. She wrapped her trunk around the log and lifted it before throwing it over the river. It wasn't a big log, but it was strong enough to allow the trio to move forward. Along the way, the group was being watched by many smaller animals, most of which were spiders.

The closer the group got to Arich's tree, the bigger it looked. By the time the Kongs made it to the tree, it looked as big as a mountain. Needless to say, climbing this thing wasn't going to be easy. Dixie looked back at Kiddy with a concerned look. "What do you think, Kiddy? Do you wanna come with me?"

Kiddy shook his head. "I stay with Ellie."

As much as Dixie didn't like leaving her cousin behind, it looked like she didn't have much of a choice. If he DID climb the tree, he could just as easily fall out. And even if he made it to Arich, there was a good chance that he would get attacked for trespassing. Without any other options, all Dixie could do was shrug. "All right, you can stay down here. But I don't want either of you wandering off, OK?"

Kiddy nodded in understanding as he grabbed onto Ellie's trunk for comfort. Dixie hopped onto the large tree and began to climb. Though she wouldn't say she was the best climber out there, she was getting pretty far up. Admittedly, this was probably easier than she expected it to be. And on the bright side, there was no K. Rool waiting to kill her off up there.

As Dixie kept going, the spiders kept on watching her. They would jump from branch to branch just to watch this stranger climb. This was starting to make Dixie feel uneasy, but none of the spiders tried to attack her either. In fact, they were more infatuated by the bird on her head than they were of her.

There was a grumble inside the tree, this caused Dixie to pause in fear. She didn't have much time to think as a large, red spider lunged towards her and grabbed her before bouncing back to the top of the tree. She was thrown onto a large web sitting below the leaves.

"Well, now..." said the spider. "I never thought anyone would attempt to climb my tree, though I suppose I should be thankful it wasn't that unholy machine."

"...Unholy machine?" Dixie asked.

"The intruder," Arich replied, "The one taking over the Northern Kremisphere."

"Oh!" Dixie's face lit up upon realization, "You mean Kaos, right?"

"I don't care what their name is," Arich replied, "I just want them out of this land!"

"But you know who they are, right?"

"Of course," Arich replied. "This machine tried to cut down the entire forest. I didn't have a problem taking them down...But in a way, I do feel SOME sympathy for them."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, this machine was very...hesitant," Arich explained. "One minute, they don't want to destroy anything, but when that electricity courses through them, they go back to being...well, a machine!"

A machine that feels emotion? Maybe there was a way for Kaos to become one of the good guys. And when they do, they might be able to find both missing Kongs and the Banana Birds. Of course...she couldn't help but wonder WHY Kaos would act so hesitant, but that's something she would have to worry about for another time.

"So what brings someone like you to my tree?" Arich asked as he crossed his arms, "Are you the one trying to save the Banana Bird Queen?"

"...Yeah, why?"

Arich chuckled, he started digging through the leaves until he pulled something out. When he brought it to Dixie, he opened his paws. Sitting inside his paws was another Banana Bird.

"I think one of the reasons that machine tried to destroy the forest was to get to this bird. I've kept it safe, but I know I can't keep it here forever."

Dixie opened her hands and allowed the bird to fly into them, it greeted the other bird sitting on her head.

"So where do you think Kaos went to?" Dixie asked, hoping she could get an idea on where to go next. Arich crossed his arms, he thought for a moment. "I believe they've made their way over to that castle, but I don't think either of you can go there...at least not yet."

"Oh...Well have you seen any other Kongs around here?"

"No I haven't," Arich replied. "At least, not that I can recall..."

"Well, thanks anyway."

After all that's been said, Arich grabbed Dixie and climbed out of the tree. He brought her back to her cousin before heading back up. Kiddy gave her a confused look at first, but then he noticed the second banana bird in her hand.

"Bird?"

"Yep."

"And DK?"

"Nope," Dixie shook her head, "Neither of them were up there."

"Ugh..." Kiddy dropped to the floor and crossed his arms, as if someone refused to give him his favorite toy.

"Come on, we've got a little more forest to get through," Dixie said as she started to walk. Ellie walked over to Kiddy and lifted him onto her back. There was a little more exploring to do, so at the very least there had to be something at the end of the forest.

 

* * *

 

At the end of Kremwood Forest was a cliff. Here, Dixie could see the sun starting to set. In the distance, she could also see a castle. The windows appeared to be glowing purple, as if it were part of a horror movie. Once the glowing had stopped, a robot began to fly out of it and headed towards a nearby island. Dixie had to assume it was Kaos, though a robot coming out of a castle like that made as much sense as a pirate owning an airship.

"Excuse me," said a voice, causing the group to face him, it was another bear.

"You wouldn't happen to be Funky's friends, would you?" asked the bear.

"Yeah," Dixie replied, "Why do you ask?"

"Well, because Funky called and told me I'd run into you guys," said the bear as he pulled out a patch. "Anyway, I have this thing, so I figured you'd want to take it."

"Er...thanks," Dixie said as she accepted the patch. "So have you seen any other Kongs out here."

"Hm..." the bear placed a claw under his chin as he began to think. "I DID hear those Kongs say they were heading over to Cotton Top Cove, but I wouldn't know what happened to them."

Dixie nodded in understanding, at least now she had idea about where to go next. Perhaps if she made her way to Cotton-Top Cove, she'd be able to find DK and Diddy there as well. And if not...then hey, she could still find another banana bird in that area.

...Speaking of which, whatever happened to Parry? Is he still in Wrinkly's cave?


	9. Chapter 9

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There's not much going on it this chapter, since it's relatively short. But I WILL add another one to make up for it over the weekend...probably.

With their first adventure drawing to a close, Dixie and Kiddy made their way back through Kremwood forest and out of Lake Orangutanga. When they made it back to Funky's garage, Dixie could see that Funky and Candy were talking to Parry.

"So let me get this straight," Funky said, "You want me to build a plane so you guys can head on over to Pacifica?"

"Well I can't carry those two over there," Parry explained "They're far too big."

"OK, but...wouldn't a gyrocopter work out better for you guys?" Candy asked. "You wouldn't have to worry about taking off from the ground."

"But we don't have the stuff for a gyrocopter!"

"Then I guess I won't be able to build it, then," Funky said with a shrug. In that moment, Dixie walked over to the duo with a confused expression. "What's going on?"

"Oh, this bird wants Funky to make you guys a plane," Candy said casually.

"And I'm not gonna be able to build ANYTHING without the right parts," Funky replied. "DK had a gyrocopter, so you could always look for that. But until then, I'm not doin' anything with it!"

Speaking of new parts, Dixie showed Funky the patch that the bear handed over to her. "This probably won't give us any airplanes OR gyrocopters, but you still wanted this thing...right?"

"Oh, hey!" Funky said excitedly, "This is just what I needed for the Hovercraft!"

"You mean you'll be able to fix it?" Candy asked.

"Of course" Funky replied. "I should have it done by tonight...Just make sure Kiddy doesn't go eating the patch, again."

Kiddy looked away, as if he were embarrassed. Ellie patted him on the head, reassuringly.

"So...Did you guys find out where DK went?" Funky asked. Dixie shook her head as she looked back at the birds sitting in the motorboat "No, but I found a couple more Banana Birds out there."

"Right...you mean like the bird stayin' with Wrinkly?" Funky asked.

"Well...whatever they are, they seem really important," Candy said with her arms crossed. "And besides...maybe they'll lead you guys closer to whoever's behind all this."

Dixie and Kiddy looked at each other with uncertainty. They knew DK and Diddy were trying to look for the Banana Birds before, but they never really thought about how far they had gotten into their own adventure. Either way, they were sure Cotton-Top Cove had some answers.

"Anyway, I don't think I'll be able to be much help until you two can reach Pacifica," Parry said as he flew over to Dixie. "So for now, let's just worry about gathering the Banana Birds, OK?"

"No worries," Dixie replied. "We'll be able to handle it from here on out!"

 

* * *

 

As the sun finally set, Dixie started heading back to Wrinkly's cave. Kiddy went back to staying in Funky's Garage along with Ellie, though at this point Kiddy was tired enough to not cause any trouble for anyone.

As Dixie entered the cave, the Banana Birds in her possession flew into the living room to greet their sibling. They fluttered around a bit before heading into the kitchen. Sitting in front of the TV was Wrinkly, who watched as the birds took off.

"So I see you've found some new friends," Wrinkly said in an excited tone. Dixie nodded. "I was told that I needed them to save their queen."

"Then they've picked a good place to stay," Wrinkly replied. "I tell you, they make much better company than that wretched husband of mine."

"Well I'm glad you like having them around," Dixie said. "Besides...With that weirdo out there, I don't think I'd be able to keep them all at once."

"I suppose that makes sense," Wrinkly replied. "Just keep an eye out for them, and we'll be able to save their queen in no time."

The Kongs looked up at the clock, it was almost 9:00 at night. Wrinkly stood up from the couch and handed Dixie the remote. "You're free to watch whatever you'd like, just don't stay up too late...all right?"

"Yes, ma'am."

"All righty, then," Wrinkly said as she headed into her room. "Good night."

With Wrinkly gone, Dixie went over to her suitcase and pulled out a blanket before dragging it over to the couch. She changed the channel until she found something she thought was interesting. On the TV, there was a pink blob fighting a penguin...Or at least she was sure it was a penguin. Either way, she needed to rest up if she wanted to get through tomorrow. And although she hated to think this way, she'd have to concentrate on more finding the Banana Birds than finding the missing Kongs for the time being. For all she knew, she might need the birds' help on finding them.

...She just hoped that DK and Diddy could hang in there for just a bit longer, wherever they were.

 

* * *

 

After what seemed like a long time to them, a robot managed to land on the edge of Mekanos. They could no longer contact Belcha, they knew something was wrong.

The robot flew by the factories inhabiting Mekanos, they watched as the Kremlings here worked endlessly to make all kinds of weapons, as well as parts they would need for a submarine. It wasn't going to look fancy or anything, but stuff like this wouldn't matter when you're taking over the Northern Kremisphere.

While some of the Kremlings enjoyed their work, others looked like they were suffering. Some of them even collapsed under their own weight. Unlike K. Rool, the robot felt some sympathy towards the Kremlings. They wished that they could put an end to their suffering...perhaps if they destroy the factories, they could free everyone?

Out of nowhere, electricity coursed through their body, causing them to scream. They stood there as the electricity escaped its body. They no longer cared for the scenery around them, nor did they care about the well being of the Kremlings. It was as if someone had flipped a switch in order to change them. After all, rebellious thoughts were not allowed when it came to working with the Kremlings.

They headed into the factory. They knew that those Kongs were up to something, so all they needed to do was wait for them. And once those Kongs are destroyed, they can finally take over the Northern Kremisphere.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey look, a new enemy...?


	10. Chapter 10

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> It's almost 1:30 am as I'm writing this, I should really be asleep!

"You sold WHAT to Bazaar!?"

It was finally morning, and Dixie had fallen off the couch. There was a bruise over her eye, her hair was all over the place, and her shirt was covered in drool. On the TV, there were apples rolling along a green background.

"So you're telling me that you sold your great-grandfather's mirror JUST so you can keep playing Swanky's games!?" Wrinkly yelled as she stepped out of the kitchen. A few minutes later, she started pinching the bridge of her nose. "I swear, you're as dumb as you were when we first met!"

Dixie was about to say something, but was interrupted as Wrinkly went back into the kitchen. "All right, well you'd better be feeding Squitter while you're over there...A spider can't do anything on an empty stomach, you know!"

...Well, since she was awake, Dixie figured she would go ahead and get herself ready to explore Cotton-Top Cove. She switched out her pink clothes for some purple clothes and brushed through her hair. When she was done getting herself ready, she made her way into the kitchen and sat down by the table. Thankfully, by this point, Wrinkly was done speaking with Cranky. She was standing over the stove while making omelettes.

"So, are you ready to keep exploring?"

"You bet I am," Dixie replied as the Banana Birds around her started singing.

"I see," Wrinkly said, smiling. "Well, from the sounds of it, those birds look really excited to see some more company around here."

"I'll bet they are," Dixie replied. "And I'll bet Kiddy's looking forward to it, too."

"Well I'm glad to hear it," Wrinkly said. "Believe it or not, our son Junior used to be around Kiddy's age when he rescued Cranky all those years ago."

"Wait...you mean Cranky's been kidnapped before?"

"Of course" Wrinkly replied. "He was taken by someone in a red hat...though I can't recall what his name was."

Dixie sat there with a surprised look on her face, she could never imagine Cranky being the type of person who'd get captured...then again, she never thought DK would get captured before, so who was she to judge?

"Anyway," Wrinkly said as she put the omlette on a plate before handing it over to Dixie, "I don't want you exploring on an empty stomach, all right?"

"Yes, ma'am," Dixie said as she started eating her food. She scratched near where her bruise would be. But suprisingly...the bruise was gone. Perhaps she imagined it?

...Either way, she needed to head over to Cotton-Top Cove soon.

 

* * *

 

After Dixie finished eating, she headed on over to Bazaar's Cabin. She wasn't sure if there were any enemies over there, so perhaps Bazaar would be able to tell her something? But as she entered the store, she could see Funky and Kiddy sitting in front of the counter. Bazaar was standing behind the counter with donuts in his claws.

"Heya, Dixie." Funky greeted. "Want a donut?"

"...Maybe just one," Dixie replied. Funky grabbed the box of donuts and handed one of them to Dixie.

"We exploring Dik-shi?" Kiddy asked as he received a donut from Funky. Strangely, Kiddy was wearing green pajamas rather than the blue ones he would normally wear.

"We will in a moment," Dixie replied. "I just wanted to ask Bazaar about Cotton-Top Cove."

"Oh really?" Bazaar asked as he started tapping his claws against the counter. "What did you want to ask?"

"Do you know if there are any bad guys out there?" Dixie asked. Bazaar had a look of uncertainty on his face, he brought his claws against his chin. "I don't know for sure...But I can tell you this, my brothers DID see DK and Diddy over there at some point.

In that moment, Dixie and Funky gave Bazaar a dumbfounded look, it was as if they got slapped in the face.

"Why didn't you say anything before?" Funky asked sternly.

"Well? it's been days since we've seen 'em," Bazaar replied with a shrug. "Not to mention that my brothers are pretty busy over there."

"...I guess you have a point," Dixie replied. "They could be anywhere right now."

"Well it's a good thing I got done fixing that hovercraft," Funky replied. "You should be able to go beyond Lake Orangutanga at this point...though I don't think you'll be able to reach that castle."

"Oh, right!" Dixie yelled. "Does anyone know who lives in that castle?"

"Not that I know of," Bazaar said with a shrug. "That castle's been abandoned for YEARS."

"Plus, you wouldn't be able to make it to that castle even if you wanted to," Funky replied. "You'd need to find some skis if you wanna get past the waterfalls."

Dixie nodded in understanding. Though she was certain that castle was where Kaos came from, now wasn't the time to worry about it. For now, she just needed to get through Cotton-Top Cove and find the missing banana birds.

 

* * *

 

Once the Kongs were ready, Funky allowed Dixie to use the hovercraft he had been working on the night before. In addition to Kiddy joining her, Ellie decided to join her as well. And since Cotton-Top Cove was mostly made up of water, Dixie figured that bringing an elephant sounded like a good idea.

As the group kept moving, they drove by a small island full of factories. There was also a dam, which kept the Kongs out of the island. Eventually, the group made their way over to Cotton-Top Cove.

The lakes appeared to be a deep-blue color, with waterfalls feeding into it from another lake above it. To Dixie, it was surprising to see how empty it was. But it wasn't completely abandoned, as she was able to hear birthday music coming from a nearby beach house.

Dixie made her way over to the door and started knocking. Kiddy followed after her while Ellie laid down beside one of the nearby lakes. In a moment, the door started to open. Standing at the doorway was a bear in tan clothing, he resembled an explorer.

"Oh, you must be the Kongs Bazaar was talking about earlier" said the bear. "I'd love to talk, but uh...we have...something else going on."

"I see that, but-"

"Hey, Bramble! Who's at the door?" asked another bear from inside the house.

"Just a couple of Kongs," Bramble replied. "I don't know if it's all right to invite them in, though."

It went silent for a moment, though Dixie could hear whispering inside. After a few moments had gone by, the bear started to yell again. "Yeah, you can let 'em in!"

"All righty, then!" Bramble called back as he moved back, allowing the Kongs to step inside. "Sorry, it's our brother's birthday, so I wasn't sure if we were allowed to let you in."

All Dixie could do was nod. She could understand not wanting to invite strangers, but with someone taking over the Northern Kremisphere, this wasn't really the time to be so polite. Still, she was happy she could come in regardless.

There were two more bears inside the living room. One of them was a bear with blue fur and a party hat, the other one was a brown bear with a mustache.

"So you must be the ones who knocked at the door," said the blue bear, who sighed afterwards.

"Oh, don't be so down," said the other bear. "At least SOMEONE showed up."

"...Yeah," said the blue bear. He looked at Dixie and tilted his head. "So did you need anything?"

"Uh...I was going to ask if you knew about the Kongs who were here a while ago."

"...Now that you mention it, I think I know who you're talking about," the blue bear said. "The bigger one was talking to Bramble while the smaller one carried around this tiny box."

"What tiny box?"

The bear grabbed a nearby present and placed it onto the table. It was a small white box with a blue ribbon on top.

"That Kong was going on about how he wanted to bring something back to his girlfriend. Those two went off to take down the dam blocking out Mekanos. But about a day later, I found this box washed up on the lake. Since then, I haven't seen either of 'em."

Dixie frowned. There was no way anyone could get lost in Cotton-Top Cove. This was probably where Kaos ran into DK and Diddy. And for all she knew, they could still be in Mekanos somewhere, either in a cage or...goodness knows what else.

"I'm going to guess that YOU'RE the girlfriend, right?" asked the blue bear. "You can take the present if you want, I'm sure that Kong won't mind."

Dixie nodded as she took the present. Suddenly, the bear in the mustache started speaking. "You wanna explore Cotton-Top Cove too, right?"

"Yeah, why?"

"Well...If you want an easier way to get behind the waterfalls, I suggest you look for n underwater tunnel. It'll make your lives a lot easier that way."

After saying her good-byes to the bears, she walked out of the house with Kiddy. When she opened the box, she couldn't believe what she was seeing.

There was a pair of blue pearl earrings inside the box.


	11. Chapter 11

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Some more Cotton-Top Cove.

The Kongs moved closer to the lake. Along the way, Dixie placed the earrings onto her ears. Since her boyfriend had already planned on giving them to her before, she figured it'd be rude to just leave them behind. Especially when she wasn't sure if she'd see him again.

The lake stretched out pretty far, it was probably even longer than Lake Orangutanga. Thankfully, however, all Dixie had to worry about was getting over to the Waterfall. If she could make it over to the switch, she could get to Mekanos and look for the Kongs there. As soon as the Kongs reunited with Ellie, they began to dive into the lake. Fortunately, Dixie could spot the cave entrance towards the bottom of the lake. Unfortunately, the path to the entrance was surrounded by fish, urchins, and sea anemones.

Kiddy was clinging onto Ellie's back. Despite her size, Ellie was trying her best not to touch the anemones. She would occasionally bump one of them with her trunk, but she was willing to put up with it if it meant not letting them hit the Kongs. Dixie was following closely behind the duo, she was using her hair to propell herself underwater. Everything was going well until a fish bumped into her. She tried to regain her balance, but her foot brushed against a nearby anemone. Dixie swam upwards before she curled up and examine her foot. It felt as if she stepped on a massive shard of glass. Hopefully, none of the anemones here were poisonous.

Out of nowhere, a blue swordfish swam by and grabbed Dixie by the shirt. It dragged her further underwater while avoiding the other creatures down here. Eventually, the fish made its way into the cave. The moment that fish swam away, Kiddy grabbed Dixie and dragged her onto land.

"is Dik-shi OK?" Kiddy asked.

"I'm all right," Dixie said as she stood up...only to go back down as pain shot through her foot. Between her and and the rest of the group, she was surprised that Kiddy wasn't the one that was injured...Then again, she'd rather have it be her than her cousin. She climbed onto Ellie's back before the group started moving. Once they made their way out of the cave, they could see that they were standing behind the waterfalls. Vegetation grew along the cliffs, small insects would walk along the walls, it was as if this area was completely untouched.

Kiddy walked beside Ellie and Dixie. From where the group was, they could see Mekanos in the distance. It didn't look any less intimidating, but they needed to get there, somehow. The trio raced along the cliffs, but was immediately stopped by a blast of water.

"Halt!" said a voice. A pair of eyes peaked out from behind the rocks, along the wall was a large, rock-like slug. If Dixie had to take a guess, it was probably as big as the waterfall itself.

"Are you the ones affiliated with Kaos?"

"No, we're the ones trying to stop him!" Dixie replied.

"I see..." the slug brought its eyes closer to the trio, it was trying to examine them more closely. Once it felt content in its judgement, it brought its eyes back to its body. "You certainly don't LOOK malicious, although I question why you decided to bring a toddler along with you."

"Believe me, I would've kept him back home if I could," Dixie replied. Kiddy gave her a bitter look, though he didn't want to argue with her.

"I suppose you have your reasons," the slug replied. "I am called Squirt, I am the one who drove Kaos out of Cotton-Top Cove."

"And how'd you manage to do that?"

"I blasted them hard enough to bring them out of the cliffs," Squirt replied. "Their head is vulnerable. So should you ever run into Kaos, be sure to go after their head."

"...OK," Dixie had a confused look on her face. "But did you see them do anything to the Kongs that were here, before?"

"I have not," Squirt replied. "Sadly, there's only so much that a slug like me can do. But I DO know that there is a Banana Bird up ahead."

"REALLY!?"

"Really," repeated Squirt. "It's been hiding up there ever since Kaos appeared. I don't want them to come back here and find it. So before you leave this place, I ask that you take it with you."

With that said, Squirt curled up against the wall to blend with its surroundings once again. The group kept moving, as they needed to find that banana bird in addition to opening the way into Mekanos.

 

* * *

 

The group had finally made it to the end of the cliffs. Not only did they find the switch, they also found a small cave nearby. A Banana Bird was peaking out from behind a rock, it was keeping its distance from the group.

"Kiddy, look!" Dixie said as she pointed at the bird. Kiddy noticed the bird, but he didn't go after it. The bird started hopping over to the group. Thankfully, it didn't see anybody as a threat.

"You know, the other birds are waiting back at our cave," Dixie told the bird in hopes of encouraging it to come over. The bird complied, it hopped closer to the group. But as soon as the bird noticed the injuries on Ellie's trunk and Dixie's foot, it began to sing.

Meanwhile, Kiddy made his way over to the switch and started pulling at the lever. Although the switch was stubborn, Kiddy was able to pull it back. The group watched as the dam blocking Mekanos started to go down.

"Is dat next, Dik-shi?" Kiddy asked as he pointed towards the island. Dixie replied with a nod. "Yep, that's where we're headed next."

When the banana bird stopped singing, Ellie started to swing her trunk. She didn't have the anemone stings that she had before...and neither did Dixie, she jumped off the elephant's back and started tapping her foot against the ground. She looked down at the bird with a look of amusement on her face. "So you guys have healing powers, huh?"

The bird tweeted in response, as if it were trying to say "yes". Dixie had to admit, it would be kind of nice to have a healer around during her adventure. But with Kaos around, she didn't exactly want to risk it.

"Come on, Kiddy...Let's get out of here," Dixie said as she jumped into the water, with Ellie following after her. Kiddy looked over at Mekanos some more, he started to look uneasy.

"...OK," Kiddy said as he jumped into the water with the bird following him. Mekanos wasn't going to be easy, but the group was certain that they could get through it somehow.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly...I don't know if I should be excited to do Mekanos or uncomfortable...considering what's powering Kaos in the first place.


	12. Chapter 12

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So we've finally reached Kaos. I'll admit, part of this chapter made me slightly uncomfortable. But y'know...the story much go on.

As the group made it out of the water, they could see Cranky, Swanky, and Parry talking among themselves. Come to think of it, didn't Swanky say something about Cotton-Top Cove back in Kremwood Forest?

"So you're here too, huh?" Cranky asked as he turned his attention towards the group. "Any luck findin' my grandchildren?"

"Not yet," Dixie replied. "We found another Banana Bird, though."

"Well, I suppose any progress is good progress," Cranky said as he rolled his eyes. "Though if I were the one doing this, it'd probably take me 5 hours to find them!"

"You don't even know where they are," Swanky added.

"...Right," Dixie turned her attention towards Parry. "So where do you think we could find the other Banana Birds?"

"Well...the only other place you can go right now is Mekanos," Parry replied. "But aside from that, the only other place I can think of is that castle."

"OK...Hopefully, Mekanos has something Funky can use, too." Dixie added.

Cranky looked down at the group and started stroking his beard. "I don't know, you guys...I highly doubt that an elephant's gonna do much, over there."

"So what do you think we should do, then?"

"Hm..." Cranky continued to think for a moment before looking at Swanky. "We don't need to use Squitter today, do we?"

Swanky had a worried look on his face. "Not right now, but-"

"Great, then Dixie can use Squitter while we keep an eye on the elephant!"

"But me dun' want spider!" Kiddy complained as he held onto Ellie's trunk.

"Kiddy, it's not like we're gonna leave her out here," Dixie explained. "We'll bring her back home once this adventure's over, OK?"

Kiddy scowled, he crossed his arms and dropped down onto the floor, "Fine!"

Cranky made his way over to the tent and looked underneath. "Hey, Dixie needs ya!"

In an instant, Squitter ran out of the tent and stopped in front of Dixie. It was as if he was excited to go on an adventure with her, again...or at least that's what she thought, it was hard to understand Squitter without someone around to talk for him.

"I dun' like spider!" Kiddy said bitterly. Dixie huffed in annoyance. "Would you knock it off? Besides, Squitter's helped me a few times back on Crocodile Isle."

This didn't make Kiddy any happier. But regardless, he started following Dixie and Squitter to the hovercraft. As requested, Ellie and the Banana Bird stayed behind with Cranky and Swanky.

"Good luck out there," Cranky yelled as the trio left for Mekanos, "You're all going to need it!"

"Right, well...I guess it's time for me to take this one home," Parry said as he started flapping his wings. The Banana Bird started doing the same thing before following him. Although Parry wasn't sure about the dangers of Mekanos, he still hoped that Dixie's group would come out of it OK.

 

* * *

 

With the dam gone, the trio made their way over to Mekanos. As expected, it looked worse than Dixie ever imagined. The trees here were reduced to nothing but stumps, the grass was yellow and lifeless. And yet, Kremlings were here carrying metallic parts like it was nothing. They didn't look as nice as the Kremlings did back in Lake Orangutanga. In fact, it was as if Dixie had set foot on Crocodile Isle for the second time.

"You OK, Dik-shi?" Kiddy asked while grabbing his cousin' hand. It was obvious that he was as uneasy as she was. Nonetheless, Dixie sighed as she climbed on top of Squitter's back. "Come on, we've gotta find that Banana Bird!"

"OK," Kiddy replied as he climbed onto Squitter's abdomen. Although the spider struggled at first, he started to head into the main factory. Inside, there were large vats of melted metal. Aside from that, there were different conveyor belts with the Kremlings inspecting different parts. In the back of the room, Dixie could see what appeared to be an unfinished submarine. She had to assume that Kaos was involved, somehow...but what would a robot need with a submarine?

...Whatever was going on, it wasn't Dixie's main concern right now. She needed to find one of the Banana Birds. She lightly tapped Squitter's side, the spider stretched before moving forward.

At first, Squitter was wandering around in hopes of finding where the Banana Bird was. But the instant he looked up, he could see something looking down at him with glowing, yellow eyes. As soon as the figure disappeared, Squitter started to scale the walls of the factory.

"Oh gees," Dixie said as she started clinging onto Squitter. "Hold on tight, Kiddy!"

"OK," Kiddy said as he started hugging Squitter's abdomen. Despite feeling weighed down, Squitter kept moving along the walls. Along the way, the group was noticed by some owl-like robots. They were carrying cannons in their talons. If the Kremlings here weren't going to stop the Kongs, then these things most certainly will.

The robotic owls aimed for Squitter, which caused him to panic. One cannonball nearly hit one of his legs, which he curled into his body. He moved as quickly as possible, he would jump and tuck in his legs in until he made it to the closest floor. He hid behind some metal barrels in hopes that he would lose the owls' trail. Thankfully, the owls stopped attacking and continued to patrol the area below them. If Dixie had to guess, it was because they thought Squitter had died.

"Are you OK?" Dixie asked. Squitter was shaken, but he replied with a nod.

"What now?" Kiddy asked. Dixie looked up, there were a few more floors to get through before reaching the top. Hopefully, those owls wouldn't notice them a second time.

"Let's just keep going," Dixie said. Squitter nodded as he started climbing the walls again. As cautious as he was, he was thankful that those owls didn't go after him again. He kept moving until he finally reached the top floor. All that was up here was a door, which was probably where that shadowy figure was hiding.

"Thanks for the help, Squitter," Dixie said as she climbed off of his back. "We'll be back, soon."

Squitter sighed as all eight of his legs collapsed against the floor. Kibby climbed off of his abdomen and started following Dixie to the next room. Whatever that figure was, the duo could tell that it wasn't going to be good.

 

* * *

 

Dixie slowly entered the room, she allowed Kiddy to walk in before closing the door behind him. In the back of the room was a Banana Bird, sitting in a cage while surrounded by junk. In the middle of the room, however, sat a green robot. They were twice the size of DK, they had glowing lights in their abdomen with doors on each side of their body. There was rocket on their bottom, and they had a green helmet sitting on their head, with two antennae sticking out. In a way, it reminded Dixie of a beetle. And yet, the closer she got to it, the more she felt her heart pounding. This robot had to be none other than Kaos.

"E-excuse me," Dixie said quietly, which awakened Kaos. Their eyes started to glow, they looked down at the duo. Dixie stood in front of Kiddy in case the robot started fighting, and yet they just...stood there.

"...Wh-what are you doing here?" asked Kaos. Dixie would've expected them to have a deeper voice, and yet they sounded like a sick child on the verge of death.

"Ne-neither of you should be in h-here," Kaos warned, "Get-get out now while you-"

Before Kaos could finish speaking, a jolt of electricity coursed through their body. Screams filled the room, Kiddy grabbed onto Dixie and hid his face in her chest. All Dixie could do was stand there and rub his back as the robot continued to suffer.

As the eletcricity stopped, Kaos began to float. This time, however, Dixie could tell they were glaring at her.

"...Kongs...ENEMY!" The doors on Kaos' sides had opened, allowing two arms to stick out. Each arm had a boxing glove at the end of it. "You must be...DESTROYED!!!"

The Kongs screamed as Kaos swung their arms at them. Dixie's whole body was shaking. Although she's faced plenty of dangerous foes before, Kaos was...different. They weren't a malicious force hellbent on taking over the Northern Kremisphere. But rather, someone was FORCING them to do this.

"Look out!" Kiddy yelled as he pulled Dixie out of the way before Kaos punched them. He looked at his cousin with concern. "Are you OK?"

"I...I don't know," Dixie said quietly. "I just...I don't want to fight them for some reason."

"But we gotta!" Kiddy yelled. One again, he pulled Dixie out of the way before Kaos could hit them. Dixie sighed, she knew she'd feel bad about taking them down, but from the looks of it, she had no choice.

"All right," Dixie said. "Squirt said that their head was their weak point, so we've gotta get their helmet off, somehow!"

Kiddy nodded in understanding. He looked at Dixie with a determined look on his face. "What, now?"

"When they come close, grab onto one of their arms!" Dixie commanded. "That way, I can climb onto them and remove their helmet. That's when we go for the head!"

"OK!"

Kaos started to charge after them, again. But as soon as they were about to hit the Kongs, Kiddy grabbed onto their glove and pulled at their arm. Dixie jumped onto Kaos and started pulling at their helmet. The robot tried to hit her with their free arm, but unfortunately, they couldn't reach.

Dixie pulled the helmet off of Kaos, revealing that they possessed a humanoid head with sunglasses. For some reason, Kaos' head reminded her of a character she had seen in an action movie somewhere. But that didn't matter right now, she started pounding at Kaos' head with her ponytail. With each pounding, the head would spin around. Before Dixie could take his head off, however, the electricity would come back. In addition to shocking Kaos, it also shocked Dixie before she hit the ground. Kiddy ran over to her and helped her sit up. The duo watched as Kaos turned towards the Kongs. Strangely, they didn't attack this time.

"...Ne-next time we meet...KAOS will win!!!"

With that said, Kaos flew out of the building. Kiddy looked down at Dixie with concern. "Are you OK?"

"...Yeah, I think so," Dixie said as she stood up, though she was still slightly shaken. "Let's...just grab what we need and get out of here."

"OK," Kiddy said with a nod as he walked over to the cage and released the Banana Bird. Meanwhile, Dixie was digging around in the junk pile for something Funky could use. She settled upon grabbing two skis before she decided to head out.

She no longer wanted to bring Kaos down...But rather, she wanted to find a way to help them.


	13. Chapter 13

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here we are, at the home stretch...

After the group left Mekanos, they headed back to Funky's Garage and Wrinkly's Cave for the rest of the day. Although Kiddy wasn't too happy about keeping Squitter around, there wasn't much that he could do about it.

Of course, when Dixie came back to Wrinkly's Cave, she was greeted by the Banana Birds. Parry was staying in the kitchen, as he wanted to keep a close eye on the birds. With just a few more places to visit, it was only a matter of time before Dixie had saved all of the birds.

The next morning, Dixie had woken up to the Banana Birds singing. Unlike yesterday, the TV was showing a movie about a human girl living in a town full of other animals. Today, Dixie needed to head over to the castle, though she wasn't sure if she would be able to reach it yet.

"Dixie!" Wrinkly called from outside the cave, "Are you awake, dear?"

Dixie grunted as she jumped off the couch and headed out of the cave. Her hair was all over the place, but she didn't seem to care at the moment. She walked outside, expecting either Kiddy or Funky to be present. However, as she exited the cave, she could see that Wrinkly was standing outside with Bramble.

"Good morning," Bramble said as he walked over to Dixie. "Did you sleep well?"

"Kind of?" Dixie said as she yawned, "The sun's not even out, yet!"

"Er..." Bramble scratched the back of his head. "I know it's early, but I figured that you'd want to keep this."

To her surprise, Bramble handed Dixie a Banana Bird. It was incredibly healthy and full of life, so much so that it started singing with the rest of its siblings.

"Bazaar told me you were keeping an eye out for these," Bramble explained. "And since I'm done studying this one, I figured that it'd be happier with its own family."

Dixie nodded, she turned around and allowed the bird to fly into the cave. "They'll be fine as long as the bad guys don't find us here."

"Speaking of which, I hear that robot fled to the castle last night," Bramble replied. "Unfortunately, it looks like the castle's been blocked off by some sort of wall."

"Yeah...I figured as much," Dixie said while crossing her arms. "So is there any good news?"

"Well...Fortunately for you, you can get to the castle through Razor Ridge," Bramble explained. "Unfortunately, you might not be able to get back out until that wall's down..."

"So there's a good chance that we can't come back, then?" Dixie thought to herself. As discouraging as this sounded, she was certain that was where DK and Diddy were located. And if they're being held captive with the rest of the birds, saving everyone should be easy.

"Do you know anyone at Razor Ridge who can help?" Dixie asked.

"Uh-well..." Bramble started scratching the back of his head. "If you're serious about this, you'll have to find my brother, Benny. He's in charge of the chairlifts there."

"Great, we'll be sure to keep an eye out for him, then!"

"All right, then," Bramble replied, the look of concern was obvious on his face. "Take care..."

As Bramble left, Dixie headed back into the cave to take care of her hair. This was going to be tricky, especially if the missing Kongs were being held captive at the castle. But if she could come out of Crocodile Isle alive, then she shouldn't have a problem with getting through that castle.

 

* * *

 

Dixie made her way over to Funky's garage. There, she could see Funky passed out inside the hovercraft. Next to the hovercraft was some sort of jet ski, which Candy was trying to work on. Kiddy was sitting next to her with a curious expression on his face.

"Good morning, guys!" Dixie said, gaining the attention of the two Kongs.

"Hi, Dixie," Candy said while still focused on the jet ski. "Funky spent the whole night building this thing, so I'm trying to finish it off."

"I see," Dixie said as she folded her arms behind her back. "So this thing's gonna help me get to the castle, then?"

"I think so," Candy replied. "Funky told me that this thing should help you get past smaller waterfalls."

"That's good," Dixie said. "Because I think I might be able to find the missing Kongs, this time."

"You really think so?"

"Well there aren't that many places left to explore, it's only a matter of time before I find them!"

"In that case, I hope you two are careful," Candy said as she finally stood up and stepped away from the jet ski. "I can't say what'll happen for sure, but I'm sure you two will be fine."

Dixie nodded as she climbed into the jet ski, with Kiddy jumping in not long after she did. As the duo started heading over to the mountains, the water ended up splashing all over the place. This startled Funky, who was still sitting in the hovercraft.

"Wha-Where'd the Jet Ski go?"

"Don't worry about it," Candy replied. "I fixed it up so Dixie could use it."

"...Huh," Funky sat up from his spot, he started scratching the back of his head. "Well, as long it works..."

 

* * *

 

Out in the water, Dixie had already adjusted to using the jet ski. She sped by Lake Orangutanga, as well as Mekanos. She could already see the mountains in the distance, as well as the castle. She was getting closer to finding the Kongs.

"Where we goin', Dik-shi?" Kiddy asked while looking into the water.

"We're gonna go save DK," Dixie replied.

"But what about birds?"

"We'll save those, too. But for now, let's see if we can find DK this time!"

"...OK," Kiddy said dejectedly. He wanted to save the Kongs, sure. But for some reason, the thought of meeting up with DK and Diddy again was sending chills down his spine. And the worst part was he didn't even know why.

...Then again, it could've just been his imagination.

There was a waterfall coming up. Though it was much shorter than the ones in Cotton-Top Cove, it looked as if it could still destroy the jet ski if Dixie wasn't careful. If she gathered enough speed, then she could make it over the waterfall.

Dixie pulled a nearby lever, which caused the jet ski to speed up. In response to this, Kiddy started holding both sides of the boat. The jet ski went over the waterfall like a ramp, causing it to fly through the air for a brief moment. When it landed, it caused both Kongs to lose their balance. Thankfully, neither of them had fallen into the water.

"Are you OK?" Dixie asked as she stood back up. Kiddy was still dazed, but he gave Dixie a thumb's up.

The Kongs could see that they were much closer to the castle. But as Bramble said, it was closed off by a wall. Fortunately, there was a spot near the base of a snowy mountain that they could stop in. They were one step closer to their goal.


	14. Chapter 14

As the Kongs made it to land, they could see a pale, yellow bear walking down the road. He was wearing pants with purple suspenders, as well as a hat with a feather in it. The bear had a weary look on his face, it was as if he had gotten out of a bad argument.

"Excuse me!" Dixie called out as she raced towards the bear, with Kiddy following closely behind her. The bear turned towards the Kongs, he forced a smile on his face.

"Good morning, you two." said the bear as he put his hands in his pockets, "What can I do for you, today?"

"Would you happen to know someone named 'Benny'?" Dixie asked, "I was told that I needed to find him to get through Razor Ridge."

"Yeah? I'm Benny," the bear replied, "But I can't let you through Razor Ridge, right now."

"Aw, why not?"

"Well, because a Kremling accidentally broke our chairlift," Benny replied. "And being as absent-minded as I was, I let one of my other brothers borrow my twin's wrench a few days ago. Needless to say, he gave me an earful this morning."

"So you're off to get it back then, huh?"

"Yes, ma'am," Benny replied. "Once the chairlift's fixed, I promise I'll be more than happy to let you use 'em."

"Great," Dixie replied. Benny allowed the two Kongs to follow him. Eventually, the trio found themselves in front of a small cabin, surrounded by old ropes and backpacks. When the group walked inside, they could see a bear trying clean the shelves, though the floor was still cluttered with junk.

The bear stepped back to admire his hardwork, only to watch in disbelief as the shelf fell down. Somehow, Dixie couldn't help but feel bad for him.

"Hey, Barter?" Benny said quietly, "Do you have a moment?"

"Hey, Benny," Barter greeted, "You wouldn't happen to have seen Baffle around, have you?"

"Not since the castle got closed off."

"Huh..." Barter started scratching the back of his head. "Well he said he'd help me fix this place up a while ago, but I'm startin' to get worried about him."

"Nevermind that now," Benny replied. "Do you still have the wrench I gave you?"

Barter let out a faint chuckle, "About that..."

"Please tell me you still have the wrench!"

"Sorry," Barter said with a shrug, "I handed it over to Blizzard, yesterday."

"Oh..." Benny started to frown, he could already feel how bitter the Kongs must've been. "Do you know where he is?"

"He told me he was fixing something at his place," Barter replied. "Unfortunately, he says he hasn't been able to leave home yet."

Benny let out a sigh, "So he's stuck in K3, then?"

"I'm afraid so."

"All right, thanks for telling us."

The trio stepped outside, they each had a defeated look on their face.

"So now what?" Dixie asked, bitterly. Benny shrugged. "I guess we've got no choice but to climb K3."

"I can climb," Kiddy said confidentially. Dixie sighed as she patted Kiddy on the head. "Yeah, but climbing a mountain isn't like climbing a tree."

"Well, how are you at rock climbing?" Benny asked Dixie, who replied with a shrug. "The highest I've climbed anything was Crocodile Isle if that counts?"

"Good enough," Benny replied. "I'll guide you two through K3. And when we find Blizzard, I'll let you through Razor Ridge. OK?"

Both Kongs nodded, though Dixie understood that Benny was in a bad situation. Regardless, the bear started leading the Kongs to the snowy mountain, K3.

 

* * *

 

So far, the journey up the mountain wasn't too bad. Every once in a while, Benny would look back at the Kongs to make sure they were following him. Dixie was able to keep up at a decent pace, though Kiddy would struggle with getting through the gaps on the ground. The further the group moved, the colder it started to get. Eventually, they found themselves traveling through a strange snow storm. With how clear the weather was before, the snow storm shouldn't be as brutal as it was right now.

Eventually, the group found another cabin nearby. Thankfully, it looked like someone had already cleared the path to the door. When the trio entered, Benny started calling out his brother's name.

"Blizzard, are you there!?"

There was no response. Benny called out to Blizzard, again. But from the looks of it, nobody was here.

"Where do you think he's gone?" Dixie asked. Benny replied with a shrug, "I dunno, but Blizzard's great with snow storms, so I'm sure he's fine out there."

"So now what?" Dixie asked, "Do we just sit here and wait for him to get back?"

"I guess so," Benny replied. He sat down in a nearby chair while Dixie and Kiddy stayed huddled in a corner. While these bears could live in the cold just fine, is wasn't exactly a nice place for apes to stay in.

The winds would blow harshly, so much so that it felt like the cabin could fly away. Thankfully, it was able to stay on the ground. Half an hour would go buy until the group heard someone open the door. A white bear ran inside, he was wearing a Winter hat and a backpack, his paws were covered in ice.

"Everything all right, Blizzard?" Benny asked with a concerned look on his face. Blizzard nodded in response, "I-I think so."

While Blizzard walked over to the fire place, he noticed the two Kongs huddled in the corner. He gave Benny a strange look. "Where did those two come from?"

"Don't worry about it," Benny replied. "I just need to get them to Razor Ridge, but I need that wrench if they're ever gonna get through there."

"Why? Is the chairlift broken?"

"Yep."

"Ah...I getcha."

As soon as Blzzard lit up the fire place, he headed into the another room and started searching. "I would've given it back sooner, but I've been tryin' to keep an eye out for that snowman!"

"Why? Did something happen?"

"I dunno," Blizzard replied. "But from what I can tell, he's been trying to protect something!"

"What's he tryin' to protect?"

"I'd tell ya, but he keeps throwin' snowballs at me!" Blizzard grumbled as he came out of the room with the wrench in his hand. "He's been rude before, but I don't think he was ever THIS rude!"

"Well should we do something?"

"You can if you want, but I don't know if it'll do you any good."

Once Blizzard handed Benny the wrench, the two of them started to head outside. Curiously, the Kongs began to follow them. For all they knew, that snowman could be holding onto another Banana Bird.


	15. Chapter 15

It was freezing cold, and the group was making their way up the mountain. The higher up they were, the more the snow continued to blow. It was as if giant fan was blowing over the mountain.

"Is that you again?" asked a voice, coming from within the storm itself. "And I see you brought friends. Shame it won't do you any good!"

"And what exactly are you hiding?" Dixie asked. The wind blew harder, as if to look down at her in amusement. "Well, ain't she a feisty one? It's been a while since I've seen a Kong up here."

"Please, Bleak...we're not here to cause trouble," Blizzard replied. "We don't know what's going on at that castle, so do you think you could calm down?"

"And why should I trust you?" Bleak asked, bitterly. "Those birds came up here for a reason, so I'm not letting them go!"

Dixie was right, she had a feeling that Bleak was hiding something. She began to call out to him.

"Hey, how about a snowball fight?"

"Against someone as small as you?" Bleak taunted. "Are you sure you're not messin' with me, girly?"

"Well, I DID promise someone that I'd help collect these Banana Birds," Dixie said while placing her hands on her hips. "Not to mention that all the birds we've collected so far haven't caused much trouble."

Bleak went quiet for a moment. Despite not having a body, Dixie could imagine him having a hand below him chin.

"So this someone...would he happen to be named Parry, by chance?"

"Yep, that's him."

"Interesting..." The snowstorm began to quiet down as the snow around them began to form a body. Standing in front of the group was the aforementioned snowman, complete with his own top hat and scarf.

"Y'know...it's one thing for those bears to come challenging me, but it's another thing for some kid to challenge me for a couple o' birds. But...I suppose it's better than to have that cold-blooded creep walkin' around!"

"All right, can we get on with it?"

"Of course," Bleak said as he snapped his fingers, freezing the brother bears in the process. Before the spell could hit Kiddy, he ran towards Dixie with a look of distress on his face.

"Now here's how it works," Bleak said as a snowball formed in his hand. "All you gotta do is throw snowballs at me until you knock me down. But if I manage to bring YOU down," Bleak tossed the snowball at Dixie, "then it's game over! Sound good?"

"Ugh..." Dixie struggled to move through the snow, as she had no idea as to what she had gotten herself into. Kiddy pulled her out of the snow and gave Bleak a thumbs up. With all that said and done, Bleak created a wall of ice and started tossing snowballs into the Kongs' direction.

Dixie ran in the opposite direction of Kiddy. Quickly, she picked up some nearby snow and tossed it at Bleak. Unfortunately, the snowball wasn't high enough. Bleak started tossing snowballs again, but was knocked down by an even heavier snowball. Dixie looked in Kiddy's direction, his hands were red and his wrists were covered in snow.

"Are you OK?" Dixie asked. Kiddy replied with a shrug. "It's a game, right?"

"Y-yeah, it's just a game."

"Well don't think you two have won just yet!" Bleak yelled from behind the wall. He started tossing more snowballs at the Kongs, causing the two of them to panic. Once the Kongs were shaken up, Bleak peaked out from behind the wall. "Had enough, yet?"

Kiddy huffed, he grabbed as much snow as he could before throwing it at Bleak again. The snowman almost lost his head, though he was able to straighten it out. At this point, Bleak was angry. He grabbed onto the rim of his hat and started shooting even bigger snowballs out of it.

"GET DOWN!" Dixie yelled as she ducked, Kiddy started to do the same thing. Both Kongs were being pelted by snowballs, and once they were covered, Bleak started to laugh.

"Looks like you two didn't have what it took to bring me down, after all...Such a shame, really."

But before Bleak took the wall down, he could see Kiddy creating a giant snowball from the pile he was in. He threw it so hard that it flew over the wall and knocked the snowman's head off. Dixie looked out from the snowball that Kiddy had thrown, she was dazed, but other then that she appeared to be just fine. With Bleak finally defeated, Benny and Blizzard were free from their frozen prison. The wind began to pick up snow again. This time, however, it was much gentler than it was before.

"I guess you really want those birds, huh?" Bleak asked. "I suppose I'll allow it, as long as you steer clear from that creep!"

"You mean Kaos?" Dixie asked.

"Kaos?" Bleak repeated. "I don't think that was his name, but he didn't look like someone you'd wanna mess with. Either way, try to keep your eyes peeled!"

With that said, the wind had gone silent. The Kongs had started to look around, much to the brother bears' confusion.

"How did you even BEAT him?" Blizzard asked in confusion. Dixie replied with a shrug. "I dunno, my cousin did most of the work."

Blizzard and Benny looked at each other with a bewildered look, how a toddler could beat someone like Bleak was a complete mystery to them. Speaking of which, Kiddy was looking inside a hollow tree. There was not one, but two Banana Birds huddled inside.

"Dik-shi, look!" Kiddy called out. Dixie ran towards the tree and peaked inside. To her relief, the banana birds were doing just fine. Normally, Parry would be around to take them to the cave. However, it looked like they would have to fly on their own, this time. She'll have to trust them to find Wrinkly's cave by themselves. But with Bleak out of the way, she was one step closer to reaching the castle. And not only were they closer to finding the Kongs, they were one step closer to saving Kaos as well.

Dixie was looking forward to seeing how things would work out in the end.

 

* * *

 

After the group parted ways with Blizzard, they headed back down the mountain and started heading towards Razor Ridge. And as Dixie had hoped, the banana birds flew off in search of their siblings. Given how many there was back at the cave, it shouldn't be too hard for the birds to find their way over there.

Just like before, Benny was the leading the group. He was tossing the wrench in the air while whistling some-sort of tune.

"So if you don't mind me asking, how much is it gonna cost us to get through the chairlift?"

"Eh, don't worry about it," Benny replied. "What I wanna know is why you'd wanna get through Razor Ridge so badly."

"Well, it's because we're looking for someone."

"You mean more of those Banana Birds?"

"Well...yeah, but we're also trying to look for two Kongs, they went missing not that long ago."

"Ah, I gotcha."

As the group kept walking, Dixie could see the castle standing close by. It was sitting behind a lake, with water draining out of the pipes. Kiddy stayed close to Dixie as he saw the castle in the distance. Exploring the area wasn't going to be easy, as far as Dixie was aware, but it was something that had to be done.


	16. Chapter 16

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So I've been writing for over a year now. And to be honest, I'm starting to feel kind of burnt out.
> 
> ...But I'll be damned if I don't finish this story!

When the group made it to Razor Ridge, they could see that the area was full of caves. In fact, they could even see Kremlings flying through them using helicopter blades. Just like the Kremlings back in Lake Orangutanga, these ones didn't appear to be harmful.

Standing outside one of the chairlifts was another bear, who looked similar to Benny. However, his pants was green instead of purple. He gave Benny an impatient look.

"What took you so long!?"

Benny started scratching the back of his head, "I...got a little side tracked, but we DID get the wrench back."

"Good, 'cause I don't think I would've been able to wait any longer!"

The bear grabbed the wrench out of Benny's hand and headed inside a nearly cabin. Moments later, the chairlifts began to move again. Some of the Kremlings could be heard cheering from below.

"All right, I guess you two are good to go," Benny said as he turned towards the Kongs. "These caves should all lead to that castle, just be careful over there when it starts raining."

"We'll be fine," Dixie replied as she brought Kiddy over to the chairlift. "Take care!"

As Benny waved to the Kongs, Dixie and Kiddy climbed onto one of the chairs. Below them, they could see several pools of water sitting around. And as they moved closer towards the caves, one of the Kremlings would greet the Kongs as they flew by.

"Hey, Dik-shi?"

"Yeah?"

"How long is thish gonna take?"

"Hopefully not much longer," Dixie replied. Looking up at the sky, she could see that sunset was going down. It was usually around this time when the Kongs would head on home, but Dixie was certain that she could go on a little further. She wasn't sure if she could say the same thing for Kiddy, given how young he was. But she was certain that he'd follow nonetheless.

 

* * *

 

Once the Kongs got off the chairlift, they headed into one of the closest caves they could find. The inside of the caves were lit up by lanterns, which allowed the Kongs to see.

Jumping from one rock to another wasn't a problem for Dixie, since she could glide using her ponytail. However, she always had to wait for Kiddy. Jumping down wasn't exactly an option for him, so he had to climb down as slowly as possible. Eventually, the Kongs found an underwater lake. Dixie jumped into the lake before calling out to her cousin. "How're things going up there!?"

"It's good," Kiddy replied. He tried to grab onto another rock, but he lost his grip. Next thing he knew, he fell next to Dixie inside the lake.

The Kongs swam ahead, though the caves started to get dark. The further the Kongs went, the darker it got. Eventually, it reached a point where the only light they could see was from the fish glowing underwater.

"Stop right there!" yelled a voice. Fish began to glow in all directions as a large urchin shot itself from out of the water, her spikes allowed her to hang from the ceiling.

"You two are about to leave Razor Ridge," said the urchin. "Any further and you won't be able to leave."

"We know that," Dixie replied. "Why do you think we're down here?"

"Well...believe me, ever since that creep showed up, I haven't been able to get back to my OWN home," the urchin explained. "Not to mention those other primates, I don't even KNOW what happened to those two!"

"...That's actually why we're here," Dixie explained. "We've been looking for those primates since we got here. We knew the way to the castle was blocked off by that wall, so we had to come down here, instead."

The urchin sighed, she brought the lower half of her body towards her upper half. "Well, I can't walk on land myself, but I'm sure there's a switch somewhere in that castle that can open the door..." Suddenly, the spikes on the urchin's upper body had gotten loose. She fell back into the water, causing a wave to happen.

"...Still," said the urchin,"I don't know what happened to those primates, so I can't guarantee that you two can make it out of there unharmed. Is this really what you want?"

"Of course," Dixie replied.

"Then I suppose I can let you pass," The urchin replied as she started sinking back into the lake. "Just don't say that I didn't warn you..."

With the urchin gone, the Kongs moved further ahead. What they didn't realize was that there was a stronger current ahead of them. Kiddy grabbed onto Dixie's leg as both Kongs were dragged into the current.

The water was going down fast, almost like a waterfall. However, neither of the Kongs could see anything, except for a bright light at the end. Eventually, both Kongs found themselves flying outside of a pipe. Dixie hit her back on a nearby rock while Kiddy found himself falling face-first into the water.

"Owww..." Dixie slid off the rock and fell into the water, she was going to be feeling that for a while. Kiddy sat up from the water and ran over to Dixie, "You OK?"

"Uh...I think so?" Dixie asked as she slowly stood up. For all she knew, she probably just bruised her back.

"Can we go back?" Kiddy asked with a concerned look on his face. Dixie shook her head. "We can't, remember?"

"But it get dark out."

"I know, but we've just gotta keep going for a little bit longer...OK?"

Kiddy pouted, though he knew that there was no fighting with Dixie once she made up her mind.

The sun was almost gone, and it looked like there was going to be rain. The Kongs hurried along the path, hoping that they could reach the castle soon.

 

* * *

 

Within the room at the top of the castle stood Kaos. They watched in absolute horror as Dixie and Kiddy made their way along the path. Although they admired her perseverance, that couldn't be enough for her to meet her goal.

"Say...isn't that the pipsqueak's girlfriend?" asked a voice. Standing next to Kaos was a large reptilian figure, who was hiding inside the dark room.

"I'm surprised you haven't killed her yet," said the reptile. "But since she's here, why don't you head down there and take care of her yourself?"

"But...but I can't," Kaos replied. Compared to how they sounded in Mekanos, their voice sounded much weaker than before.

"And why can't you?" The reptile replied. "You're supposed to be an unstoppable killing machine...Unless, of course, that pipsqueak rubbed off on you, somehow."

"Y-you can...hurt us...all...all you want, but...I'm not...going to...hurt her."

"Ugh...Looks like that pipsqueak rubbed off on you more than I thought he did," said the lizard as he walked behind a curtain and pulled out a remote. "No matter. We can wait up here, but you're killing that brat whether you like it or not!"

Kaos braced themself as the reptile pushed the button, their consciousness faded away as the electricity coursed through their body.

Unless Dixie found a way to save them, there was no way this would end well.


	17. Chapter 17

As Dixie and Kiddy continued to walk along the pathway, it began to rain. It was starting to reach a point where thunder and lightning would strike. Thankfully, there was a small cabin sitting near the castle. Dixie recalled someone mentioning one of the bears still being trapped in this place, so perhaps this was where his cabin was?

Dixie knocked on the door. As expected, what came out was a bear. He wore a green shirt and had his hair tied back into a ponytail. He had a confused look on his face.

"Well, I wasn't expecting anyone to find me here," said the bear. "Did my brothers send you?"

"Uh...Not exactly," Dixie replied. "But can we come in?"

"Sure thing," said the bear. "It looks like the rain's about to get worse, anyhow."

The Kongs walked into the cabin as the bear closed the door behind them, lining the walls were all kinds of photographs. Most of them were from obscure places, as far as Dixie could tell.

"You can call me Baffle," said the bear. "I may not look like it now, but I'm a bit of a detective."

"Oh, so you can find hidden secrets, then?"

"Of course," Baffle replied. "But believe it or not, you two aren't the only Kongs I've seen around here."

"So you've seen others?" Dixie asked, excitedly. "Do you know what happened to them?"

Baffle frowned, he started scratching the back of his head. "Sadly, no...But I got a picture of the guy who captured them. Wanna see?"

"Sure," Dixie replied. "What did you get?"

Baffle looked at the wall for a moment. When he found the photograph he wanted, he took it off the wall and handed it over to Dixie. "Is this what you're looking for?"

Dixie couldn't believe her eyes. In the photograph, there was a large crocodile dragging a large cage behind him. DK and Diddy were sitting inside the cage, both of them looked unconscious. The Crocodile looked an awful lot like K. Rool, and yet the last time she'd seen him, he came down along with Crocodile Isle. She wasn't willing to believe that this was K. Rool right away, but she knew one thing. This croc was probably behind Kaos' suffering, as well.

"Is DK?" Kiddy asked as he held onto Dixie's arm.

"Is something wrong?" Baffle asked. Dixie shook her head as she handed the photograph back to him. "Where did you take the picture?"

"From the castle," Baffle explained. "You don't wanna go through the entrance right now, though. It's full of lightning rods."

"So then, how am I supposed to get in there?"

Baffle placed a claw under his chin as he tried to think. "Well, last I remembered, there were some loose bricks you could climb up. If you can climb that wall, then you should be able to make it into the castle."

"All right, we'll keep that in mind," Dixie said. She looked down at Kiddy, "Are you ready?"

"Yeah!"

"Then let's go!"

Dixie thanked Baffle for his help before she set out once again. Although the rain wasn't any lighter than it was before, they were happy to know that the missing Kongs were right around the corner.

 

* * *

 

As instructed, the Kongs steered clear from the castle entrance and climbed up the side of the castle. This sort of thing would've been easier with Squitter around, but they were able to make it into a nearby window. They continued to explore the castle until they made it to the highest room in the castle.

The interior of the room looked like some-sort of laboratory, with different switches lining the walls. Dixie flipped one of the switches to turn the lights on, sitting in the middle of the room was Kaos. Just like in Mekanos, they were unusually quiet.

"Hey, we're gonna get you outta here," Dixie whispered. Once again, Kaos didn't respond.

"I-I know you're probably worried, but we didn't just come here to save our friends, we came here to save you, too. What do you say?"

Once again, Kaos stayed silent. Kiddy looked at Dixie with a worried glace. "This is bad."

Dixie nodded in agreement. "You don't think they got shocked again, did you?"

Suddenly, the lights around Kaos' body started to turn on. Instead of his usual child-like voice, Kaos let out a loud roar, similar to a gorilla who lost their bananas. Their boxing gloves came out from both sides before charging at the Kongs, again.

"You remember what to do. Right, Kiddy?"

"Yeah," Kiddy replied. He grabbed onto Kaos' boxing glove before they made contact with him. Dixie climbed along Kaos' arm and pounded their head as much as possible. Their head spun around so fast that it inevitably fell off.

...Well, they were a robot. They could probably be fixed, later.

Kaos roared in anger as a canon came out from where the head was. They aimed towards Kiddy, though Dixie started pulling the cannon away from the toddler's face. "CAN'T YOU SEE WE'RE TRYING TO HELP OUT, HERE!?"

The cannon shot wildly around the room, Kiddy looked around for something that could close it off. His eyes settled upon a nearby barrel. Quickly, the young ape grabbed the barrel and shoved it into the cannon. Not only did the explosion knock both Kongs into the wall, it also caused the rest of Kaos' body to break in half. The body stood there for a few more seconds before dropping, sitting inside the robot was a certain gorilla with a red tie. Before Dixie could examine him, she could hear someone complaining nearby.

"Come on, you useless hunk of junk!"

Curiously, Dixie and Kiddy made their way to the curtain and opened in. Standing behind the curtain was a certain crocodile, he was wearing a white lab coat. The Kongs stared at him before processing what had happened.

"So it IS you," Dixie said. "But I thought you sank along with Crocodile Isle.."

"Yeah? And look at what you've DONE!?" K. Rool yelled, angrily. "I've used my wife's best pots and pans to make Kaos, and then you casted them aside as if they were a stack of empty tins!"

"...You have a WIFE?" Dixie asked, bluntly.

"Not important," K. Rool replied. "You may have roasted my robot, but you're not getting to me that easily. Not while I still have those birds!"

"What?"

"Well, it's been fun," K. Rool said as he grabbed onto one of the levers, "But I've got a submarine to catch!"

The floor beneath K. Rool's feet turned into a chute as he dropped down. Dixie looked down and started yelling at him.

"COME BACK HERE, YOU COWARD!" Dixie yelled as Kiddy help her back. "WE'RE NOT DONE WITH YOU, YET!"

The Kongs paused as they heard a groan. The ape laying inside Kaos crawled out of their body and started rubbing his head. However, he paused as he soon as he noticed the Kongs staring at him.

"Uh...What happened?"

"...DK!" Dixie yelled excitedly, she ran towards him and wrapped her arms around his neck. Afterwards, Kiddy ran towards him and grabbed his arm.

"What's goin' on, you guys are actin' like you hadn't seen me in days."

"Why do you think we're here in the first place?" Dixie replied. "It's no wonder Kaos didn't want to hurt us!"

"Kaos...?" Suddenly, something clicked in DK's head. Dixie and Kiddy let go as the big ape ran towards Kaos' head. He tore it open like a coconut, revealing that Diddy was inside.

"You all right, Little Buddy?" DK asked. There was no response. Diddy was pale, he looked as if he had the life sucked out of him. DK brought an ear towards Diddy's chest, all tension dropped from his shoulders. "Thank goodness, he's alive!"

"Uh...Not to ruin the moment, but do you know how to get out of here?"

DK nodded. "Yeah, it's under the bridge, right?"

"But there's a wall in the way."

"Hm..." DK lifted Diddy into his arm as he looked at the switches on the wall. He pulled at one of them, but quickly pushed it back as he felt something shock him. He pulled at a different switch, which thankfully opened the gate to the rest of the Northern Kremisphere.

With the Kongs finally saved, Dixie could finally go back to Wrinkly's cave. But she had to wonder...with K. Rool gone, where else was there to go?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> We're not quite done yet, but at least the Kongs have finally been rescued.


	18. Chapter 18

It was late at night, and the Kongs were finally heading back to the caves. Dixie was the one driving the jet ski. DK was sitting in the back with Kiddy sitting next to him. Diddy was still passed out in DK's arms, he hadn't moved since he was freed from K. Rool's control.

"So how exactly did you think to come down here and find us?" DK asked. Dixie glanced back at him for a moment before focusing on the water in front of her.

"Well, Funky sent us a letter," Dixie explained. "He said something about you guys going missing all of a sudden."

"Huh...Well I hope we didn't worry you too much," DK replied. "And hey...You helped save me last time, so I'm glad that you could do it again."

"Well, we're not exactly done yet," Dixie said. DK tilted his head, he gave her a confused look. "Whaddaya mean?"

"Uh...To put a long story short, we met a bird...And we've been looking around for other birds to save a queen...I can't remember the exact details."

DK tried to think for a moment. This sounded familiar, but he couldn't quite put his finger on it. His memory was still fuzzy, but he was certain he could remember something.

The Kongs finally reached Funky's garage. Strangely enough, neither Funky nor Candy were here. If Dixie had to guess, both Kongs were probably with either Wrinkly or Bazaar.

As per usual, Dixie parted with Kiddy for the night as the toddler passed out inside a spare tire. However, DK continued to follow Dixie into Wrinkly's cave. The Banana Birds slept quietly inside the living room. As for Wrinkly, she was sitting in the kitchen with Candy and Funky. Dixie walked in with DK following behind her.

"H-hey, guys!" Dixie said while waving awkwardly. The Kongs turned their attention toward her, they were about to speak when they noticed that DK was standing behind her. Quickly, the Kongs got off their seats and ran towards DK.

"A-are you all right?" Wrinkly asked, concerned. "Are you hurt?"

"I can't believe it, you're alive!" Funky yelled.

"Where did you even GO!?" Candy asked. DK had a tired look on his face, yet he smiled. "It's...a long story, you guys."

"K. Rool was using them to power his robot," Dixie explained. "DK's fine, but Diddy has, like, no energy left."

"Oh, you poor dears," Wrinkly said while patting DK's back. Meanwhile, Funky looked at Dixie with a concerned look. "So K. Rool's behind all this, huh?"

"I wish I could say I was suprised," Candy added. Still, Dixie wasn't done yet. As long as K. Rool doesn't find the cave, the Banana Birds should be safe. However, she would have to find some clues about K. Rool's whereabouts if she wanted to save the Northern Kremisphere.

 

* * *

 

The next morning, Dixie had woken up on the couch. As always, the TV was turned onto the same show about apples.

Diddy was sleeping on the opposite side of the couch, some of the Banana Birds started to sing their songs around him. It was like they were trying to heal him, though whatever he'd gone through was probably worse than getting stung by an anemone. In other words, it might take a while.

Dixie threw her blanket off and started heading into the kitchen. Parry was standing on a chair while Wrinkly was making pancakes.

"So I see that you were able to save your friends," Parry said. "I can't imagine what they've been through, but it must've been a lot."

"Yeah, it looks like it."

"So do you have any idea where the other Banana Birds are?"

"Not a clue."

"I see..." Parry placed a feather below his beak. "Well, the only other place I can think of is Pacifica. But even then, you'd need a flying machine if you wanted to go over there."

"Yeah..." Dixie said with a defeated look on her face. Meanwhile, DK made his way into the cave. His fur was a mess, and his tie appeared to be missing.

"HEY, YOU GUYS AWAKE!?" DK called out.

"We're in the kitchen, dear!" Wrinkly called back. DK made his way through the living room, he ruffled Diddy's fur as he walked by before sitting at the kitchen table. He sat in the chair across from Dixie.

"So you're tryin' to look for Banana Birds, right?"

Dixie tilted her head. "Yeah, why?"

"'Cause I remember we used a gyrocopter to get through the Northern Kremisphere." DK explained. "We got to find some of those birds near Lake Orangutanga, but by the time we tried to leave Cotton-Top Cove, someone shot us down."

"So you're saying that there's a way for us to get a flying machine?"

"Yeah...but the bad news is that it landed somewhere between Cotton-Top Cove and Mekanos," DK explained while scratching the back of his head. "But I'll bet that if we find whatever's left of it, Funky'll be able to fix it up."

"Are you sure about that?" Dixie asked, "Because you guys have been gone for DAYS. I'll bet that grycopter's covered in rust by now."

"Yeah, but it can't hurt to look around, would it?"

Dixie shrugged. She knew that DK was a stubborn ape. And considering that there was nowhere else to go for the time being, she didn't have much of a choice.

 

* * *

 

Once the Kongs had finished their breakfast, they headed off towards the outskirts of Cotton-Top Cove. Today, Kiddy wasn't too interested in exploring, which left DK and Dixie to go by themselves.

Dixie was driving the jet ski while DK looked around. When he was certain that he was in the right spot, he turned around to face Dixie. "All right, I think this is it!"

"OK," Dixie said as she stopped the jet ski. She looked at DK with a concerned look. "Do you need any help looking around?"

"I'll be all right," DK replied as he stretched. "Besides, you've done more than enough to help us out."

DK jumped into the water before Dixie protested. As stubborn as DK was, it was clear that he was trying to pay Dixie back somehow...Or at least that's what she was assuming.

Still, as much as she enjoyed exploring the Northern Kremisphere, she knew that her journey was coming to an end soon. She was going to miss this place, but at the same time, she couldn't wait to tell her sister what happened while she was here. Just thinking about it made her jump with excitement.

A few moments had passed, and DK still hadn't come up. Dixie was about to jump into the water herself when the big ape came up gasping for air. He climbed onto the Jet Ski with one hand while carrying a large vehicle over his back. As expected, parts of the gyrocopter were rusted.

"Do you really think that Funky will be able to fix it?"

"Well, he's gotta do something with it," DK replied. "Besides, if we fix this thing, we can meet up with the Banana Bird Queen!"

Dixie paused. Since Parry couldn't remember what happened, she hadn't put much thought into the Banana Bird Queen. And with Diddy still unconscious, DK was the only one she could turn to.

"Is something wrong?" DK asked. Dixie shook her head as she started driving the Turbo Ski again. "DK, how much can you remember before getting brainwashed?"

"Uh...A lot?" DK said as he looked up, he was trying to think. "To be honest, everything started catching up to me earlier this morning."

"Do you remember anything about the Banana Bird Queen?"

DK nodded, "She was trapped behind a barrier somewhere in Pacifica. She sent Parry to help us locate the Banana Birds, but...Well, I'm sure you can figure out the rest."

Dixie nodded in acknowledgement. After what K. Rool had done here, it was time that he pay for his crimes.

 

* * *

 

As soon as the duo made their way over to Funky's garage, they could see that Funky was sitting back in his chair while watching TV. Kiddy was sitting next to him, he was holding onto a tire.

"Hey. Funky!" DK called out, "We got somethin' for ya!"

"You do, huh?" Funky asked as he leaned back in his chair. DK jumped out of the jet ski and placed the gyrocopter onto the ground. "I don't know if you'll be able to do anything with this, but knowing how good you are with machines, I thought it'd be worth a shot."

Funky glanced at the gyrocopter before shrugging. "Eh...I'll see what I can do, later."

DK turned towards Dixie and gave her a thumbs up. If things went well, she'll be able to reach Pacifica in no time.


	19. Chapter 19

Another day had gone by, and Dixie was sitting in the kitchen eating cereal. Like yesterday, Diddy was still passed out. Wrinkly was sitting next to him while the Banana Birds kept singing around him.. If he didn't wake up soon, then the Kongs will have to locate Cranky to see if he could do anything.

DK walked into the cave. Unlike yesterday, his fur looked a lot neater...Plus, he didn't forget about his tie this time. Clothing was optional to the Kongs, but it just wasn't DK without his tie.

"Mornin', Wrinkly!" DK greeted as he walked behind the couch. "How's Diddy doin'?"

"Good morning, DK," Wrinkly greeted back. "He hasn't woke up yet, I'm afraid."

"I see..." DK frowned, but he quickly turned his attention towards Dixie. "So, are you ready to head over to Pacifica?"

Dixie tilted her head. "I guess...? Did Funky fix the Gyrocopter already?"

"Well...yeah," DK said while scratching the back of his head. "Though he had me and Candy help him out this time."

"All right," Dixie said as she hopped off of her seat. "Let's go, then."

The Kongs were about to head off. However, DK realized he was forgetting something. "Oh yeah, we need to bring Parry with us!"

"Why?"

DK shrugged. "I mean...he's supposed to be the Queen's assistant, ain't he? I'm sure he could help us get through Pacifica and find her."

"Good point," Dixie replied. She walked into the living room and walked over to Parry, who was sleeping in a chair. She started to nudge him, which startled the bird.

"W-what!?" Parry yelled as he flapped his wings. He looked up at Dixie with a started expression. "Oh...it's just you, Dixie. Did you need something?"

"We're gonna head off to Pacifica," Dixie replied. "Do you wanna come with us?"

Parry gave Dixie a confused look. He was going to ask her HOW she could get to Pacifica if she couldn't fly. But given everything else she had done so far, it was probably best not to question it.

"Er...OK," Parry said as he flew onto Dixie's head, he looked at DK for a moment. "Do you remember where the Queen is?"

"...I think so?" DK said with uncertainty.

"I see," Parry replied. "Well at any rate, I'll be sure to guide you two along when we get there."

The Kongs nodded as they headed out of the cave, they needed to find the Banana Bird Queen as soon as possible.

 

* * *

 

The group made their way to Funky's garage. Unlike the rest of the vehicles, Funky had the Gyrocopter sitting outside. Some of the parts looked like they were replaced, giving the Gyrocpter a newer look. Kiddy was sitting inside the cockpit, he was pretending to drive inside of it.

"So whddaya think, Dixie?" Funky asked with his arms crossed. "It took us all night to fix this thing, but we finally got it done!"

Dixie was impressed. Not only was the gyrocopter fixed, it looked like it could make going through the Northern Kremisphere much easier than it did before.

"So which way was it to Pacifica?" Dixie asked.

"Right behind Cotton-Top Cove," Parry replied. "You remember where that is, right?"

Dixie nodded, she climbed inside the cockpit and grabbed the wheel. DK climbed into the space behind the two Kongs, he looked down at Funky. "We'll be back, soon."

"All right," Funky replied. "Just don't get captured again, y'hear?"

With that said, Dixie began to control the gyrocopter. Despite the weight inside of it, it was able to get off the ground in an instant. The group was finally going Pacifica, the end to their adventure was drawing near.

 

* * *

 

As Dixie had expected, Pacifica was the lake sitting above Cotton-Top Cove. In fact, Pacifica's water flowed downward from the waterfalls, reaching the cove's lakes. Towards the back of Pacifica sat a bomb shelter, as well as a mountain of some sort. This mountain was smaller than K3 and Razor Ridge, but it still had a large, gaping hole on the front of it.

Dixie landed the Gyrocpter in front of the bomb shelter. Once it landed, the three Kongs hopped out of it and headed towards the cave. Walking outside of the cave, however, was another bear. He wore a yellow hard hat and an orange vest. Most of his fur appeared to be covered in ash.

"Yeesh, those two had better hurry up," the bear said to himself. "I don't know much much longer I can-"

"Is that you, Boomer?" DK asked, gaining the bear's attention.

"Heya, DK," Boomer replied. "What happened to that little buddy of yours?"

"It's a long story," DK replied. Dixie frowned, she wasn't quite sure about what was going on. DK picked up on this and placed a paw on her shoulder.

"Boomer, this is Dixie," DK replied. "She's actually Diddy's girlfriend."

"She is, huh?" Boomer said as he placed his paws next to his hips. "Aren't you a little young to be dating?"

"Says who?" Dixie argued. Kiddy gave her a confused look.

"I'm just kiddin'," Boomer replied. "Anyway, I've been trying to break down the barrier that's keeping the queen down there. So far, I hadn't gotten much luck gettin' her out, though."

"Huh..." Mind if we take a look?" DK asked.

"You can," Boomer said, "But I don't know if you'll be able to get her out without all the birds."

DK nodded as he lead the group into the mines. Dixie looked around while Kiddy grabbed onto her hand. This didn't look like the kind of place for a queen to stay in, especially not a bird queen. But given that Parry was found in a cave himself, the idea wasn't entirely implausible.

Along the way, Parry was singing. He continued to sing until the group heard someone sing back. They followed the sound until they reached the end of the cavern. Standing at the end of the cavern was some-sort of barrier, covered in runes.

"Your majesty!" Parry called out, "Are you still there!?"

"Yes, I am," replied a gentler voice from behind the wall. "Tell me, have the Kongs saved my children?"

"Well..." Parry shook his feathers as he tried to release the tension. "The bad news is that both Kongs had gotten captured by K. Rool."

"...And the good news?"

"Another Kong stepped to help us out. And not only did she save most of the Banana Birds, she also saved the other two Kongs as well."

"Is she here, right now?" The Queen asked, excitedly.

"Yes," Parry replied, "She's here with both her cousin and Donkey Kong."

"That's pleasant to hear," The Queen replied. "But wasn't Donkey Kong with someone else?"

"I was," DK said while butting in, "But he hasn't woken up, yet."

"A-anyway, we've explored the entire Northern Kremisphere at this point," Dixie said. "Do you know if there's any other place that we might've missed?"

It went silent, it was as if the Queen was trying to think. A few more moments went by before she finally gave an answer.

"Have you explored Krematoa, yet?"

The Kongs gave each other confused looks. Meanwhile, Parry flew closer to the wall. "Why Krematoa? It hasn't come up in YEARS!"

"True, but if there's nowhere else to go, then that just leaves Krematoa. You can use the remaining Banana Birds to bring it out of the ocean. However, I won't be able to do anything without all of them here to help me. Please return once you found them all.

With that said, the group began to leave the cave. However, Parry started flying ahead of the group.

"I'll go get the birds, meet me back at Mekanos!"


	20. Chapter 20

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Eh...there's only a couple chapters left, I may as well put them up.

Back at Wrinkly's cave, the Banana Birds had been resting since Dixie left. They felt that there was no need to sing anymore, which worried Wrinkly quite a bit. But after sleeping for the past two days, Diddy had finally begun to stirr. Wrinkly looked down at him with a sigh of relief.

"Are you all right, deary?" Wrinkly asked as she helped Diddy sit up. The young ape winced in pain as he attempted to rub his head. "I dunno...It feels like I got hit by a truck!"

Wrinkly sighed, she placed a hand on Diddy's head and started petting him. "Well, you're safe here, so you don't have to worry about a thing."

Diddy nodded, though he couldn't remember what had happened while he was Kaos. They only thing he'd remembered was that Dixie was here somewhere. He wasn't sure WHERE she was, but he knew she was here.

Suddenly, Parry flew into the cave and started singing. To the Kongs, the song sounded less like a song and more like a war cry. The other Banana Birds began to sing along with Parry as he flew out of the cave. Not long after, the birds started flying after him.

"Huh...I wonder what's got them so riled up?" Wrinkly asked. Diddy huffed as he laid back down on the couch. He was sure that Dixie was involved. But right now, he was too sore to care.

 

* * *

 

Meanwhile, Dixie and Kiddy were sitting at the edge of Mekanos. They were waiting for Parry to come back with the Banana Birds, as they were needed to bring Krematoa out of the water.

"Now...when we get to Krematoa, I don't want you to go running off by yourself," Dixie said sternly. "You got that, Kiddy?"

"Yeah," Kiddy said while nodding. After a while, DK made it out of one of the factories. He was holding onto some-sort of rocket.

"Hey, Dixie!" DK yelled. "I think I found something that might help ya get to Krematoa faster!"

Dixie gave DK a strange look, "What's a rocket gonna help me do?"

"Well, Krematoa's a volcano, right?" DK asked as he placed the rocket down next to him. "If K. Rool's hiding in Krematoa, then he's probably hiding in the crater."

"...That's not a bad idea, actually," Dixie admitted. "And I don't think I've ever heard of a volcano erupting around here...hopefully it's extinct."

Suddenly, the Kongs could hear birds singing. Parry was leading the birds around a group of rocks, their singing was causing them to sink. As the rocks sank, however, a volcano began to emerge. It didn't look as big as K3 was, but it was still big enough for someone to feel intimidated by it.

"Well, it's now or never, Kiddy," Dixie said as she climbed into the rocket, with Kiddy jumping in behind her. She looked at DK as he pressed one of the buttons. "Make sure you bring the gyrocopter back to Funky's place, OK?"

"You got it," DK said. Within an instant, the rocket barrel took off. Dixie grabbed onto a nearby lever in an attempt to steer it. She was going around Krematoa in circles, along with the Banana Birds. Once Krematoa reached its highest point, Dixie began to make her way inside. There was no lava inside the volcano, but there WAS a lake inside...along with the submarine the duo had seen in Mekanos.

Dixie started bringing the rocket down towards the lake. However, she had no idea how to land the rocket barrel. It flew in all kinds of directions until it inevitably crashed into the side of the submarine.

"Ugh..." Dixie hopped out of the rocket barrel while climbing onto the top of the submarine. She shook her fur while holding onto her beret. "Are you all right, Kiddy?"

"...Yeah?" Kiddy said as he climbed onto the submarine. While one would expect a submarine to be able to float, this thing was just...standing there. Suprisingly, the lake wasn't as deep as it looked.

Dixie jumped into the submarine, with Kiddy jumping in behind her. Before either of them could speak, the lights suddenly turned on.

"YOU!" yelled K. Rool from the from of the submarine. "So YOU'RE the ones scuttling my submarine."

"Well, if you gave us those Banana Birds, we might just leave you alone!"

"Not a chance!" K. Rool argued. "I knew you were an annoyance...but if I'd known you'd be THIS much trouble, I would've taken you along with DK AND Diddy!"

"Right...and look where we are, now?" Dixie asked as she crossed her arms while giving herself a smug look. K. Rool looked so angry, Dixie could swear that he'd pop a blood vessel.

"That doesn't matter, now!" K. Rool said as he pulled out his remote. "I'm going to bash you GOOD...but first..."

K. Rool pushed a button, which caused a vacuum to emerge. The vacuum was strong enough to pull Kiddy into the room behind them.

"KIDDY, NO!" Dixie yelled as she raced towards the vacuum. Strangely, she could hear what sounded like birds singing in the next room.

"I'm OK!" Kiddy yelled, "I'm wit' birds!"

Dixie lowered her eyelids, she looked at K. Rool with a confused expression.

"Hey, I may be evil, but I'm NOT going to beat up a baby!" K. Rool said with a shrug. "Besides...this is just between you and me!"

K. Rool pressed another button on his remote, which caused electricity to fly above Dixie's head. The electricity was coming from two different diodes...and there were four in total surrounding her. If she wanted to win against K. Rool, she would need to be careful not to get shocked.

The other two diodes began to activate. As they activated, K. Rool began to fly using a propeller backpack. Dixie ran on all fours in an attempt to avoid the electricity coming from them. As the diodes continued to release electricity, it was getting more difficult for Dixie to avoid it.

"What's the matter?" K. Rool teased, "Can't handle a little shock therapy? Then again, your boyfriend couldn't handle it, either!"

Dixie snorted, she was going to have to find a way to bring K. Rool down. Perhaps if she brought him to the same level as the diodes, then maybe she could defeat him...that is, if she could find a way to bring him down.

"Heads up!" K. Rool yelled as he pressed another button, causing a keg to fly into Dixie. She fell back into the electric currents, shocking her in the process. Her ponytail even puffed out like a dandelion.

"Aw, I guess it's game over for YOU!" K. Rool teased before turning off the lower diodes "Or...perhaps I could use you to power up Kaos once again? That way, you wouldn't have to be separated from that boyfriend of yours!"

"...Not on your life, buddy!" Dixie yelled as she grabbed the keg and threw it at K. Rool. As he landed backwards, his propeller backpack started to break. He landed on top of one of the diodes, which electrocuted him in the process. He dropped the remote, Dixie scrambled across the floor to grab it. Though she hated his guts, she couldn't leave K. Rool electrocuted like this, so she turned off the remaining diodes.

"So are you going to release those Banana Birds?" Dixie asked, sternly.

"...Well I COULD," K. Rool said with a shrug. "But even WITH those birds, you'll NEVER be able to catch me!"

Without warning, K. Rool ran towards a nearby chute and jumped down. Dixie lowered her eyelids, perhaps it wasn't such a good idea to be so merciful towards someone like K. Rool.

...Well, at least she had the remote herself. She pressed on a couple of the buttons, turning the diodes on and off in the process. Finally, she pressed the button that brought out the vacuum. It released 10 more banana birds, as well as Kiddy in the process.

"Where's Rool?"

"We'll worry about him, later." Dixie replied. "We've gotta get back to the Banana Bird Queen."

"...How?"

"Uh..." Dixie thought for a moment before she realized the predicament she was in. DK had the Gyrocopter, and the Rocket Barrel she used to get here was broken...how were they going to head back to Pacifica?

The birds continued to sing, which brought the attention of the Banana Birds outside. They began to pull Dixie out of the submarine, as well as Kiddy. It was strange having to rely on so many birds. But given the circumstances, it was understandable. She looked down, she could see K. Rool using what looked like a hovercraft to get out of the volcano. The hovercraft also had a propeller, which allowed it to fly for a short period of time.

K. Rool was going to get away from Dixie no matter what. So if she wanted to teach K. Rool a lesson, the only one she could rely on now was the Queen Banana Bird.


	21. Chapter 21

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is it, the final chapter.

After all that flying, the Banana Birds brought Dixie and Kiddy back to Pacifica. Standing at the cave entrance was Parry, who looked absolutely proud of the Kongs in front of him.

"I can't thank you two enough," Parry said happily. "Even with all our selfishness, you still went out of the way to save our kind."

"It was nothing," Dixie said proudly. "Really, I've dealt with a lot worse than all of this!"

"Well, the least we can do is repay you," Parry said while flapping his wings. "We'll take you over to officially meet the queen. It's the least we can do after all that hard work."

Dixie nodded as she and Kiddy followed Parry into the cave. Along the way, the Banana Birds flew inside and headed straight towards the Barrier. When the Kongs reached the end, they could see that the birds were singing harmoniously with their queen...or rather, their mother. The runes on the barrier began to glow one-by-one until the barrier shattered into millions of pieces. Standing among the Banana Birds was their queen, who also looked like a giant Banana Bird. unlike her children, however, she had tufts of red feathers around her neck, as well as colorful wings on behind her. To Dixie, she resembled a colorful pheonix in a way.

"Oh, I'm so happy that we're a family again," said the Banana Bird Queen. "And it's all thanks to you, Dixie."

"Like I said, it was nothing," Dixie said proudly.

"Right, well...Now that I'm free, I can finally teach K. Rool a lesson he'll never forget." The queen said, her tone becoming more bitter with each word. Not that Dixie could blame her. "Would you like to come with me?"

"Of course," Dixie said as she and Kiddy climbed onto the Banana Bird Queen's back. She finally stepped out of the cave and stretched her wings before flapping them. As she took off, she began to survey the land for K. Rool's whereabouts.

 

* * *

 

DK finally made his way back to the cave. As he landed, he could see Wrinkly and Diddy stepping outside. Though Diddy was still groggy, he waved at DK as soon as he noticed him.

"You're awake!?" DK yelled in surprise, He was tempted to look over his nephew again for any injury or illness, but after sleeping for so long, DK figured it was better to leave him alone.

'He woke up sometime after you left," Wrinkly replied. "I thought the cave was getting kind of stuffy, so we decided it'd be nice to sit out here for a bit."

"Where'd you even go, DK?" Diddy asked. "I was worried sick about ya!"

"Well-"

As if on cue, the Kongs spotted K. Rool driving by him. The Banana Bird Queen was right on his tail, like a hawk trying to catch her prey. Dixie and Kiddy were sitting on her back, cheering her on.

"You thought you could get away with keeping me sealed away!? With harming my children? AND TRYING TO TAKE OVER THE NORTHERN KREMISPHERE!?"

K. Rool pulled on several levers in hopes that they would help him go faster. However, his attempts were in vain as the Banana Bird Queen extended her talons, causing him to fall into the water.

"I am DONE with you," the Banana Bird Queen yelled as he pulled K. Rool out of the water with one of her talons. "Don't you EVER come back to the Northern Kremisphere again, DO YOU HEAR ME!?"

"Y-yes, ma'am..."

"Good!"

The Banana Bird Queen tossed K. Rool into the air before batting him out of the Northern Kremisphere. Wherever he was going, it didn't look like he would be coming back to face the Kongs for a LONG time.

Finally, the Banana Bird Queen landed in front of Wrinkly's cave. She lowered her neck, which allowed Dixie and Kiddy to climb off her back.

"What was that all about?" DK asked, scratching his head.

"It doesn't matter," Dixie replied. "K. Rool's gone, so we won't be seein' him any time soon!"

"DIXIE!" Diddy yelled as he impulsively hugged her. "It's been so LONG since we've seen you, I was wondering when..." The young monkey quieted down as he noticed the blue earrings Dixie was wearing. "How...did you get these?"

"It doesn't matter," Dixie replied as she hugged him back. "You guys are safe, and that's all that matters!"

After all that hard work, the Northern Kremisphere was finally at peace again. The Banana Birds were reunited with their mother, K. Rool was gone, and DK and Diddy were safe and sound.

This was a big adventure. And as much as Dixie enjoyed her time here, she was glad that it was all over.

 

* * *

 

A week had gone by, and the Kongs were finally back on Donkey Kong Island. Everyone was happy to finally be back home, especially DK and Diddy. Dixie wished that they had gotten a better vacation than the one they had, but hey...there was always next time.

Dixie and Diddy were sitting at the beach. Here, Dixie was trying her best to explain the whole adventure. However, the more she described it, the more confused Diddy was.

"Wait...so I was in that robot, right? and I was then one telling you to get lost?"

"Something like that," Dixie replied. "Can you remember anything?"

"Uh..." Diddy tried to think as hard as he could. He remembered that Dixie was at the Northern Kremisphere, but trying to remember anything besides that made his head hurt.

"Nope...can't remember a thing."

"Eh...don't worry about it," Dixie said as she gave up. "To put a long story short, we didn't know you two were powering that robot until we reached the castle."

"All righty, then." Diddy replied. "Still...it's hard to think that without you around, we probably would've been goners."

"Well, Funky was the one asking us to come down here."

"Yeah, but I probably wouldn't have done any of that stuff you and Kiddy did," Diddy replied. "You helped me save DK when we went through Crocodile Isle, and you've helped save us when we went missing in the Northern Kremisphere. I'm startin' to think that you could be a superhero or something!"

"Oh, knock it off!" Dixie teased as she playfully pushed Diddy, prompting him to push her back.

"You know...I'm glad I saved you and all," Dixie said, "but I don't think it'll be the last time we run into K. Rool."

"Yeah, but if he ever comes back, we'll be ready to kick his butt!" Diddy said proudly. "He won't even know what'll hit him!"

"Yeah, well...if anything ever happens to me or DK, you can just team up with my little sister to save me," Dixie teased.

"Well," Diddy said as he stood up and stretched, "Let's just hope that it doesn't reach that point. After all, he can't keep doing the same things over and over."

"Right," Dixie said while standing up, herself. "Wanna take a look at Candy's music shop real quick? It should still be open, right now."

Diddy shrugged. "Sure, why not?"

The Kongs started leaving the beach and started heading over to the village. They could finally relax, knowing that the K. Rool wouldn't show up for a while. For now, they had time to relax, and nobody was going to ruin it for them.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> And with that, I have finally done all 3 DK games. I didn't actually think I'd get past the first story, let alone all 3 (not including the original stories I've written).
> 
> Now, I don't plan on doing anything for the rest of the games. If/when I decide to do another DK story, it'll be an original story rather than me relying soley on the games for material. Still, I'm glad some of you guys stuck around towards the end. I really appreciate it.
> 
> ...And uh...here's hoping we'll get another DK game at some point.


End file.
